The Turkish Get-Up is not a dance step. And there is no turkey.

For some, bracing for crowds, snatching deals, lifting shopping bags, and balancing their Christmas shopping is enough of a workout on the day after Thanksgiving.  Others brace themselves in an uber-plank, snatch kettlebells, lift their own body weight, and center their balance in a whole new kind of turkey-inspired indulgence.  I would fall into the second category. But you knew that.

On Black Friday I put on my black chucks and headed to Boot Camps to Go to workout with one of my most favoritest trainers, Laurel Blackburn.  I like Laurel because she not only knows her stuff when it comes to human physiology and conditioning, but she is a stickler for the details of form and function, just like me.  You can read more about her in Women's Health and Oxygen magazines, where she's been profiled for her no-nonsense perspective on achieving physical fitness and her popular Boot Camp workouts.  She's super cool.

Anyway, I was glad to finally have some time to learn about kettlebells, the ancient workout that is the new rage among fitness types.  Read my post on Kettlebells: Know Your Pro for the info.  I was not disappointed!  Wow, not only was working with kettlebells seriously tough mentally and physically, I managed to burn off the bowl of Thanksgiving Oatmeal I had devoured on the drive over in no time.  That was pretty sweet.

Kettlebells require serious attention to form and technique, and that is what makes the certification of your instructor so important.  In just the hour that I spent learning some of the basics, I could see how this is the kind of workout that never gets stale: there is always another level of improvement, heavier bells, and more advanced technique.  Working out with kettlebells is about more than just burning calories (which it does, in droves).  It's also a deliberate way to center your focus on one task, which requires you to forget about everything else cluttering your brain.  That was pretty sweet, too.  I learned how to correctly swing the bells, how to do a kettlebell squat, and got reacquainted with the fact that I am so not flexible.  Check me out in my super-fly workout gear! Oh yeah. I'm glamorous.


I think my favorite part of my Black Friday workout, though, was the nap.  What?  Okay, I didn't actually take a nap but I did get to lie down.  When Laurel told me we were going to do the Turkish Get-up I wasn't sure if she was going to give me her Thanksgiving leftovers or teach me a new dance step. It wasn't either of those.  Instead, well, it's easier to show you.  This video is long, but watch it anyway.

Learning this move was interesting, and I've been practicing it at home. It's a full-body exercise and a great way to start the day!

Look, it's a crucial time of year for staying healthy. The average person puts on seven pounds just in December!  If you want to avoid that, shake up the routine: increase intensity, try something new, and challenge yourself to not become a weight gain statistic.  For you locals, Laurel has a Monday, Wednesday, Friday KB class starting up in December - register for it!  If you're not from these parts, find a certified kettlebell instructor near you and give 'em a shot!

Consider it a Christmas gift to yourself. :)

My Favorite (Healthy) Things

Oprah's not the only one who can have favorite things, yo.  And even though I will go to my grave arguing that "My Favorite Things" is not a Christmas song, I will jump on the bandwagon and use it as a catchy phrase.  I know, I'm part of the problem.

Anyway, if you're shopping for healthy-minded folks (including yourself) this holiday season, here are some of my must-haves for a healthy 2011. 

1. A good kitchen scale. Being healthy means being accountable to yourself for what goes in your body.  I weigh pretty much every stinkin thing that I eat because my metabolism is just that stubborn and I am just that much of a pain in the butt. Without my digital kitchen scale I would be a take-no-prisoners manic nutcase and that is no lie.  I like mine (see pic) because it folds up and fits in my purse. Yes I take it places with me.  This is wellness without pity, people. Not wellness when you feel like it. 

2. Good fitness shoes.  After years of buying running shoes because they were cute in the store, because I had a coupon, or because they were orange, I finally went and got fitted for shoes like a grown-up.  I went to Capital City Runners where they have this pad you stand on that shows on a screen how you pronate, where your weight is balanced in your feet, etc. and a treadmill hooked up to a video camera so they can evaluate your running stride. I don't know if all of the technical mumbo-jumbo actually resulted in a scientific reason to get different shoes, but I do really love the shoes I bought as a result and have been injury and fatigue-free since, even though they are not orange.  Good shoes cannot be beat! 

3. GoWearFit. You know how much I love my little enabler.  I love it even more since I bought the display piece that shows my calorie burn in real time.  The GoWearFit is more than just a neat-o fitness gadget, it's data gold.  In the six months that I've worn mine, it has earned its $200 price tag time and time again - not only do I get an intense satisfaction from seeing the data attached to my workouts, it provides a calm peace of mind in that I have taken out 99% of the guess-work related to maintaining and improving my fitness.  I only estimate 99% so I don't piss off God.  He has been known to smite me when I get too cheeky.

4. YOU: On a Diet by Dr. Oz and that other guy. There have been like three versions of this book printed since I first read it eons ago, but the fundamentals don't change - eat clean, eat clean every day, and eat clean.  Seriously, eating clean, unprocessed, healthy foods (note: not all clean food is healthy, just eat the healthy ones) is the #1 most important all-time best thing you can do for your health.  This book explains in layman's terms, and with corny jokes and illustrations, how and why.  Buy it for yourself, buy it for a friend, buy it for your office.  And then actually read it, and then actually do it.

Okay, that's enough. We don't want to get greedy! I hope you have a fabulously healthy day!

See you soon!

Turkey Trot Success!

Well let me tell you, there's nothing quite so thrilling as peeing in the woods to make a Turkey Trot memorable.  Thanks, gents, for making your arrival known to me before we became much better acquainted!


I set a goal going into the 15k Trot of 1:33, and by my watch I finished at 1:33:16. Not bad considering I spent about a minute and a half de-tangling myself from a sticker bush and finding a nice big oak tree to pee behind around mile three! I don't know what this thing is with having to go during races, but I am so over it. Not cool, bladder. It was funny the first time but we're not doing that again.  Please make a note of it.  


Thank you.


Anyway, Thanksgiving was a low-key affair for me. As you know, I am not a big fan of the eating holidays; they're just mine fields for overdoing it in the name of sentimentality.  So I kept all of my Turkey Tips in mind and made it a really healthy day: a nice long run and lots of clean eats including a big Thanksgiving salad full of spinach, turkey, unsweetened dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts. I planned on making my healthy pumpkin pie, but decided to skip it.  My husband doesn't really care for pie, I could live without it, and I didn't want a whole pie sitting around, so I considered it a sign from the Turkey Gods that I just was not meant to gain a pound this Thanksgiving. Thank you, Turkey Gods!  I was rewarded with a nice calorie deficit this morning according to my GoWear Fit. A deficit of 29 calories, but hey I am so counting that as a victory.  Take THAT Thanksgiving!


And now Christmas is rushing towards us like a steam engine.  That means it's time to kick things into high gear!  Over the next month, I'll be here with tips, workouts, recipes, and more to help make your holiday a healthy one.  Starting off - my Black Friday workout at Boot Camps to Go.  


I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!  Now wake up!  Naptime is over! 


The holidays are here!

Turkey Day Tip #3

Wait!  There is still time to be healthy on Thanksgiving! 

Here's how:

1. Exercise, fool! Many many many cities in this great country host Turkey Trots every Thanksgiving morning, and I am willing to bet good money that they are still taking registrations. Starting the day off with a run, or even just a brisk walk, is a great way to kickstart your metabolism plus put you in a healthy mood.  Exercise helps you eat less and feel happier about it, just sayin'. You can find a turkey trot near you!

2. Slim down your favorites. Look, I love sweet potato casserole just as much as you do. But I love feeling healthy and strong all day long more than the 10 seconds it takes to eat it.  Even if you're not a sadist like me, you can at least slim down your holiday favorites with some simple substitutions.  My friend Tiffany at The Gracious Pantry has some great holiday recipes that will make you feel like you're splurging without actually doing it.  Check them out!

3. Remember the REAL reason for Thanksgiving. My friend Ellen sent this article to me the other day because she knew I would dig it - it's not only chock full of my favorite historical demographic - naughty Puritans - but it's also about how Thanksgiving was intended to be a day of meditation and reverence, not gluttony and consumerism. Its a nice reminder to make family the focus of the day, not a personal challenge to eat everything you passed up the other 10 months of the year.

My Thanksgiving day plans? The Turkey Trot 15k, making mimosas and some whole-wheat clean eating cinnamon rolls for breakfast, watching the parade and complaining about all of the product placement, baking my healthy pumpkin pie (recipe below) with my munchkin, and having a delicious Thanksgiving-themed salad full of spinach, home-dried (AKA unsweetened) cranberries, toasted walnuts, and yes, TURKEY. Then a whole lotta rest so I can be ready for my post-Thanksgiving workout at Boot Camps to Go.

And now for the recipe...keep in mind I cook for fuel (which is to say I am not a chef!)

Healthy Heather's Pumpkin Pie


Ingredients:
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
• 8 ounces almond milk
• 3 egg whites
• 1 ½ cups crushed whole wheat graham cracker crumbs (I use Mi-Del)
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• pumpkin pie spice
• 2 egg whites, for the crust


Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Make graham cracker crust: combine 1 ½ cups crushed whole wheat graham crackers with about 2 tbsp melted butter and press into a greased pie plate. To make to crust less soggy, brush egg whites over it and bake at 350°F for about 5 minutes before adding the pie filling.

3. Mix pumpkin, milk, and egg whites until smooth.

4. Add the pumpkin pie spice

5. Pour into crust and spread evenly. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 45 minutes (may vary depending on ovens).


Have a WONFERFUL Thanksgiving...see you soon!

Turkey Day Tip Number TWO!

This always freaks me out.
This is just WRONG!

Here's the thing - one day of overeating is not going to wreck much of anything. You'll feel like crap and retain a lot of water, but if that's okay with you then put on your stretchy pants and worship at your food altar on Thursday.  I'll wait.


But four days of overeating is another story. The average Thanksgiving meal is about 3,500 calories, equal to a pound of fat. If you're on a sensible weight-loss plan, that is about one week's worth of hard work. That may be a bargain for you, I don't know. I have to practically chop off a limb to lose a pound so it is not worth it for me.

Just so we're on the same page, you won't actually gain a pound unless you eat like 5,000 calories, because your body is still going to burn about 2,000 just laying around watching football.  But still.  Be reasonable.


So if you do that on Thursday, and then eat the leftovers on Friday, and then get the Christmas baking started on Saturday, and then figure by Sunday that you're so far in the hole that the diet will start over on Monday, its not unrealistic to think that by that point you may have sacrified a full week of hard work because you "deserve it." I'm just sayin', it's science.


SO! If you want to avoid that, make a plan. It should look something like this:


1. On Thursday, be sensible. Enjoy your favorite Thanksgiving foods and counteract the calories with some exercise and lots of water. A Thanksgiving walk is a great family tradition to start!


2. On Friday, go back to your normal routine. Give away the leftovers or make less food on Thanksgiving so you don't have as much left over. Eat normally, exercise a little extra, and be thankful for how great you feel as a result.


You do not have to give into the Thanksgiving gluttony hype!  I promise, there is no winner. 

It's not too late to register for your local Turkey Trot!

Tomorrow, one last Turkey Day Tip!  

Turkey Day Tip Numero Uno

This is one of those weeks when I am not very popular.  The nutritional finger-wagging routine doesn't have many fans in a week that has an entire day dedicated to eating.  I'm not sure that it really has many fans in a normal week, either, but I do it anyway. 

BUT!  I would be a completely useless Healthy Heather if I did not implore you to remember that you CAN celebrate Thanksgiving without taking a step back in your fitness goals.  It's what I do.  If I didn't say this, I honestly would not be able to sleep at night.  Well eventually I would but it would not be quality sleep and I value my sleep so listen up! 

I am only going to say this 15 million times between now and the end of the year.

Check out this Thanksgiving Meal Calories Calculator to give yourself an idea of what you're looking at...and then decide how much of your hard work you're willing to throw away.

Tomorrow, making a Turkey Day Survival Plan.  For the calories, just so we're clear. I can't do anything about your family.

Good day! :)

Underdog? Think again, sucka!

There are these two guys I see running when I am on my way home from work. They are pretty young, maybe college-aged, and they are obviously training for something.  One seems to be the more experienced and athletic of the two, and the other looks like his protege: a little slower, a little less conditioned, a little less athletic.  Anyway, they run down the road and I watch them from my car like some kind of freaky workout stalker. 

Well I saw them again last night, and wow!  The teacher has become the student, my friends.  That little guy who a few weeks ago was struggling to keep up with his buff buddy was like a different runner. It's clear he has been putting in the work, and it showed.  I wanted to roll down my window and cheer him on, but I thought that might be a little weird.  So I cheered for him in my car - woo hoo little runner guy, go on with your bad self.

I love to cheer for the underdog.  Heck I love to cheer for anyone out there working hard to do something!  My football enthusiast friends laugh at me for my practice of rooting for both teams in a game - I just love seeing people accomplish what they work for.  So it made me really happy to see that guy kicking ass on that run. He was LOVING it, too.  He was like a dog with its head sticking out of a car window:

"THIS IS FREAKIN' AWESOME!"

I hope you have a freakin' awesome workout this weekend, the kind that makes whoever has been secretly watching you from their car really, really proud.

Good day!

A Giveaway!

The Giving Tree has been placed in my office's lobby, and the wish list of the families we have adopted for the holidays has been sent out.  Which means that for me, 'tis the season to be crying.

 

Each year my heart aches for the children who have items like coats, pajamas, or food on their Christmas wish lists.  I go through Target with my buggy, loading it up with diapers and tiny little jammies and shoes, fighting back the tears because I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of need just in my little community.  And for good measure, I throw in a completely whimiscal and unnecessary toy or two because everyone deserves something completely whimsical and unnecessary on Christmas. 

Even the grown-up kids!

Anyway, this post is more about emotional wellness than physical. I hope you can find a way to give of your time, talents, and if you have them, your resources to help make the holidays emotionally healthier for your community than it may be otherwise.  We all know the toll that stress can take on our health all year round, and the holidays have a way of mixing stress, guilt, and pressure to live beyond our financial (and caloric) means into a recipe for disaster.  Even just a few of us can help alleviate that stress through the simplest of healthy actions:

• Donate blood and literally give the gift of health. Find your local blood center here.
• Contribute to a local charitable organization that provides health services to needy folks, like this one in New Jersey. There may be one in your community. 
• Give to families whose children are dealing with life-threatening illnesses. You can find a link for how to locate a Children's Miracle Network hospital in your area here.

It's easy to give during the holidays because we are in a giving mood, but need exists for families around us all year long.  Don't stop on December 24 - please, give. Give and give and give and give! 

And then give some more.

It's good for your heart. :)

Talkin' Turkey

There are two things I have in common with Marty McFly:

I love time travel and aviator sunglasses.

But really, who doesn't?

Okay if I am being completely honest, there are three things I have in common with Marty McFly: I love time travel, aviator sunglasses, and I can't turn down a dare.

Nobody calls me chicken.

So when I first met David, a new guy at my gym, I thought, "oh this will be eaaaasy!"  Easy to mess with, that is.  A ready smile, a self-deprecating humor, a feigned hopelessness...he had all of the ingredients of someone who will engage in the kind of friendly smack talk that makes morning workouts so much fun.  But then he threw me a major curve ball:

this dude knows how to heckle.

Holy crap!  I am used to being the MESSER, not the mess-ee!  But David doesn't play that way.  Oh no, he calls me OUT.  I was totally not prepared.  But now that I know that he's not asleep at the wheel, it is so on.

So last week at our gym we had body composition assessments, and I got all picky about mine and did the electronic impedence and calipers first thing in the morning so I could compare and contrast.  And then I had my big boo-hoo post of how irked I was at the change in the past few months.  And then David accused me of being a chicken by not sharing what the results were.

But nobody calls me chicken.

So this chicken is going to talk turkey.  Yeah, I'm a sucker for a dare, everyone knows it. I'm easily manipulated that way.

Here's the thing - I work my butt off at the gym, and I eat really really healthy.  So when I see a body fat percentage of 28%, I get annoyed.  For a girl who is 34 years old, 5'4" of medium build, and regularly running endurance races plus eating clean and who has done all of that for eons and who is tracking it all with a GoWearFit, I really feel like my body fat should be lower.  Here's a chart to give you some perspective:


This chart is based on guidelines by the
American College of Sports Medicine and the
National Institute of Health.

You can probably guess which category I want to be in. 

So there are two ways I can look at this data: either I can say, "eh, I love my training, I am well-conditioned, and I eat healthy. I'm going to chalk this up to genetics and keep doing what I love," or I can say, "HELL NO! NO FAIR!  GIMME ANOTHER CHANCE!  I KNOW I CAN DO BETTER!  THIS IS SO BOGUS!" and assess how I moved from "fit" to "healthy" and make a plan to get back to where I feel I deserve to be.

I've done a little of both.  Some soul-searching, some pragmatic reality checks (*ahem* I am not getting any younger, FYI), and some strategizing of goals, nutrition, and training.  I feel really good about where I am going and how I'm getting there. 

So. There.  I did it.  Happy now? :)  I am, and I can't wait to give everyone around me a big high-five at the finish line.

Will you be there, Mr. Smarty Pants?

Signs, signs, everywhere signs

Do you believe in signs?  You know, those seemingly random events that seem to confirm a decision that you knew you wanted to make but didn't know you knew?
I do. I leave a lot of stuff up to gut instinct to lead me in the direction I should go.  I rely on signs to give me that extra confidence of "yep, I made the right decision!"  So naturally, I'm the kind of person who thinks everything is a sign.

When I see people running down the sidewalk in the mornings, I see a sign to reconnect with my own fitness goals.  On days when I've had a good workout , I feel a real sense of community with these people, like we're in a secret club together.  And on days when I want to go to Starbucks and get a big frosted pumpkin scone, I seem to see those people more often.  I think its a sign, reminding me of my bigger goal.  Which, if you're not following, is to NOT eat big frosted pumpkin scones from Starbucks.

They had some samples of those out one day and I tasted a tiny little sliver of one and...yeah....I don't need to eat that. 

The other day I kinda wanted a few more almonds, but I knew my body didn't need them...and at that moment I reached over to get something and bumped my gym bag, which is next to my desk. An upper-body weight workout I had jotted down on an index card fell out of a pocket on my bag, reminding me of my goal to increase my muscle strength.  I chuckled to myself; it was a sign that gave me the extra oomph I needed to put those almonds out of my mind.  And I did.

Yesterday, in church, my son snuggled up next to me and I smiled and reveled in our cozy little moment.  Then he said, loud and clear for all to hear, "mommy, your tummy makes such a nice pillow."

That was definitely a sign.

Well here's another one:  today I am celebrating two straight weeks of a 3,500 calorie deficit, representing two pounds lost! Woot woot! I said I was back and I meant it - I am excelling in every single area of my plan, and I am soooo glad I paid attention to those signs.  My tummy has turned into a bit of a pillow lately...and I'm sad to tell my kiddo not to get too comfortable on it.

Have I lost my mojo? Hell no! I've got it in droves! 


Tomorrow's Blog Preview: What do I have in common with Marty McFly?  See you soon!

Gym Fashion Police Bust-up

Okay. 


I will be the first to admit that I need new sports bras.  


And it is a well-known fact that I am a cheap, cheap bastard with little, if any, shame.  

But even I have my limits.

This woman...not so much.

I almost admire her.  Okay, I totally do.  


Happy Friday!  

Back with a VENGEANCE

So.


I went and did my body fat % last night.  


Uh huh. Yep. 


Yes indeedy, I have me some data.

*meaningful pause*

It's cool, man. It's fine. I'm totally fine.  Totally and completely fine. I'm so fine that we don't even need to talk about it.


Instead, we're gonna talk goals.  Specifically, my goal of getting my body fat percentage BACK down the 2.5% that it rose in the six months since I had it tested.  You know, the six months that I spent living in the world of "everything in moderation."  Like I said last week or whenever it was that I wrote this about going back to being diabolical, I had a feeling that moderation thing wasn't working for me.  And I don't want to rub it in or anything, but I was soooooo right.


And now that I have cold hard facts to back up that gut (pun intended) feeling, I am really glad that I have already spent every day since that post completely focused on getting back in shape.  I'm putting my little smiley face stickers on my calendar, kicking up the intensity of my workouts, and thank the Lord I am done traveling for a while.  Those are all great springboards for getting back to my happy zone.


So while I wasn't uber-pumped to have that reality check last night, I am uber-pumped about what I have already done to take away some of reality's bite.  My goals for the past few months have been about accomplishing tasks: a triathlon, a half-marathon, regularly running 10 miles at a stretch at least once a week.  I've done those things.  Now, my goal is about accomplishing a physical state of being.  


A completely different type of discipline.


A completely different type of benchmarking.


A completely different type of sense of achievement.


Wow, that sounds like a lot of hard work.  Good thing I have a head start!  :)

Playground Logic

Playground logic hits me in the face on a regular basis.  What I mean is the black and white way that kids assess situations that cuts to the chase in a way that we grown-ups have forgotten.  It seems the products of the "everyone gets a trophy," generation have kids who have clearly defined lines of who is a winner and who is a loser.

And since I frequently run races, I frequently have to explain to my son that I just because I didn't finish first, I didn't actually lose.  I mean, I didn't win, but, well, everyone in the race is a winner in some way that is unique to them.  And he looks at me and says, "did you win?"  Well, no.  "Then you didn't win."

yeah, this kid is definitely related to me.

So on Sunday I was painting the front door and watching some of the repeat coverage of the NYC marathon, and Mr. Positive Reinforcement comes wandering around right as the first male finisher is coming in.  He witnesses this and cheers to the TV, "yea!  you won your race!"  It was so sweet.  And then he asked me, "are those people the losers?"

"Those people" would be the people who are coming in just slightly after the first guy.  You know, the ones who ran a marathon in  2 hours, 9 minutes.  Those people.  So we started the conversation again, only this time instead of trying to explain the grainy defintion of "winner" in today's world, we talked about how calling people losers is just not polite, regardless of your opinion of their goal achievements. I think he got it this time.

When I ran the half-marathon last month, all of the finishers got a bottle opener on a lanyard with the race logo printed on it as a keepsake medal.  My kiddo saw it and said, "good job mommy! You won your race!" 

I almost told him that I had not actually won.

But I kept that little nugget of reality to myself and instead just said, "thank you."

Huge shout-out to two of my friends, Elizabeth and Josh, for running on Sunday!  Good job!  You won your race! :) 

Good day!

I'm Standing in an Interesting Spot

You've heard that phrase, "if you love something, set it free?"

Or what about how giving is better than receiving?

Or my favorite, from a t-shirt I had as a kid, "Love is like peanut butter - spread some around today."

Well, I believe all of them!  I'm a giver! 

There are a few things in life that I really love:

1. My family, and I am not just saying that because they read this or at least tell me they do
2. Pizza
3. Health and wellness

I share my awesome family (and sometimes threaten to give them away) with my friends all the time and so far no one has asked me to stop.

I begrudingly share my pizza, which is hard to do but important for portion control so I suck it up and do it anyway.

And when it comes to health and wellness, I am a firm believer that the more you give, the more you get.  I really can't put into words how insanely satisfied and happy I am when I can be part of someone reaching a wellness goal....there are no words.  That's why I've decided to earn my certification as a Wellness Coach.  I'm about halfway through my training and will sit for the exam in January.  Eeek!  Thanks to my wonderful mentor and friend Mary Barley for suggesting it to me and convincing me that I could do it. I can't wait to be legally qualified to mess with people's heads.

Anyway, I am getting to a really exciting (and nerve-wracking) part of my training: practice clients.  I've got a few people lined up who have volunteered to be my guinea pigs so I can practice what I have learned.  I don't know why I am so nervous, I coach people all the time and have done it for years.  But now that I actually, like, know stuff, it's different. 

ANYWAY!  The point of starting this blog entry today was not to tell you all that.  It was to capture this nervous feeling that I have that I am finally standing on the crest of a dream and about to jump off. 

I have a lotta lotta love for fitness, wellness, and people's crazy fitness and wellness goals, and I am going to spread some around today.  And tomorrow, and the next day.

And I just wanted to tell you that. :)

My Favorite Mistake

Who would have thought that accidentally sprinkling pepper on my Thanksgiving oatmeal yesterday would be the tastiest decision of the day?

Lately I've been making what I call "Thanksgiving Oatmeal," for my morning snack.  It is so yummy and nutritious.  The recipe is a cinch:

40 grams of old fashioned oats
15 grams of raisins
15 grams of chopped walnuts
15 grams of chopped apple
15 grams of whole, unsweetened cranberries
Pumpkin pie spice
Hot water

Combine, fuel, move on. It's good and good for you!

Anyway, I also like a dash of salt in my oats. I know, weird.  But the salt and pepper shakers at my office are always mixed up and I can't rememember which is which, so I usually sprinkle a little in my hand to check.  Well yesterday I was in a hurry so I skipped that part, and ended up with PEPPER in my oatmeal.

And then I was all, "Well, that's just great. So that's just sooooo awesome."  But in a really sarcastic internal voice. 

But what do you do?  Toss it out?  No way!  That is some high-octane fuel right there!  So I ate it.  And it was really not bad!  In fact, I think I may do it again today!

Just a tiny tiny bit.  Try it!

Have a good, tasty, high-octane fuel kind of day!

I'm Back, Baby!

I'm back!  Back to being diabolical, that is.

The kinder, gentler, more moderated Healthy Heather just wasn't doing it for me.  For one, I somehow became super flabby.  Not sure how that happened.  Oh wait, I do know:  I moderated.

Which is to mean I slacked.  I stopped taking every meal, every day, and every workout seriously.  I gave myself some wiggle room.  And, sorry folks, it just doesn't work for me.  So, on my way back from Pilates yesterday, I decided to go back to what I do best:

being a total machine, every day, no matter what. 

Well, except Thursdays. Moderation I can do without, rest not so much.  I learned that the hard way.  Just Google "Healthy Heather exhaustion lecture from doctor" for details.

YAY! I am soooooo soooooo sooooo happy!  Yessssss!  There are not enough exclamation points!  I want to use them ALL!

It feels good to be home.

New Month! New Goals!

Ahhhh.....November. A fresh new clean month.  The past few have been doozys for me so I am really glad to see a calendar with almost nothing on it!  A few races and that's it.  What a treat!

And it's also time to brush off the training goals and set some new ones for 12/31.  So, as of this morning my new training schedule is in full effect:

Mondays: 5 mile run, weights, and Pilates

Tuesdays: 8 mile run and swim (yay!)

Wednesdays: bike intervals, weights, and Pilates

Thursdays: rest. Bah. *grumpy*

Fridays: 5 mile run, weights, possibly swim, and Pilates

Saturdays: bike to my 10 mile run, bike home

Sundays: rest.

I have two 5ks, a 15k, and a 10-mile race over the next eight weeks, which will keep the legs busy, and I am FINALLY getting back in the pool for some swim training.  Becoming a stronger swimmer is a 2011 goal and I like getting a head start.

How about you?  What are you doing to stay fit, healthy, and strong through the next two months?

Have a great day!