Thursday, January 31, 2013

Throw Back Thursday 1/31/13

Welcome to 'Throw Back Thursday.'  A time when I will share some pictures of my past.  Everything from baby pictures, to proms, 4-H pictures, school pictures, wedding pictures, and just pictures from day to day life!  It can be such a blessing to look back and reflect on the journey that God's taken us through!  Thank you Pastor Wyatt for reminding us to take the time to look back on our past and reflect on just how good God is!

Here's the first 'Throw Back Thursday' picture.  I'm a year old in the picture below.  I had chubby cheeks early on!  I hope you enjoy this journey down memory lane with me and I encourage you to do the same.  Going back to your history can be so encouraging to reflect on what God's done in our lives!


One Year Old

Blessings,

Krystal

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Put the scale AWAY!

I'm always amazed at the thoughts that go through my head as I run. This morning as I ran 8 miles I realized the majority of my days can be spent focused on numbers. During most of my workouts I'm focused on distance and time. While I'm at work as a financial controller I'm focused on various numbers, calculations, etc. And in case that isn't enough, I focus on the amount of water I drink, calories I ingest and the number on the scale.

When I first started running I had set a goal for myself to lose 25 pounds. I'm so close to reaching this goal that I've caught myself focusing on it too much. As we all know so many things can affect our weight from day to day. Everything from water intake, food consumption, calories burned, change in muscle, etc.

We've all been at that place where we've been working so hard on our health and fitness and we don't feel the scale is a true reflection of our hard work. So with that I've set a goal for myself. I will NOT step on a scale for 3 weeks and will simply work each day to do the best I can and not allow one number to dictate how I feel about my progress. Feeling good, being migraine free, no more stomach pain, having more energy... These are the true indicators of how I feel, not the number on the scale. I will rejoice and praise The Lord for carrying me through this journey.

Will you join me in this challenge? Lets put the scales away and just take our health and fitness one day at a time WITHOUT being focused on one number!

Blessings,

Krystal

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Track Your Workouts!

When I first started running last spring I didn't keep track of my workouts or my running history.  In fact, I never really thought about it.  It wasn't until I accomplished my goal of running a 5k (last summer) that I began thinking, 'now what'?  I began reading about different apps and methods for keeping track of miles, times, etc.  Here's what my journey looked like as I began tracking my workouts and running last August.

The first app I tried was the Nike+ app (www.nikeplus.nike.com).  Some pros of this app include GPS capability, the app is FREE, tracks all of your stats regarding running, provides an estimate for calories burned, works while music is playing on the device and it can give you voice feedback regarding distance.  This app also has an indoor and outdoor feature so it will track your runs outside as well as your runs on the treadmill, BUT this is where I started having trouble.  After I began running on the treadmill in October (it was officially too cold for me to run outside), the app quit working properly and wasn't tracking my miles properly.  I also found that it didn't have an easy way to input a cross training workout, which I was beginning to want to track as well!  One other issue I had was I couldn't figure out how to correct a run in the event that you thought you hit 'end workout', but the app was still running while you are driving down the road (that causes some interesting results).  After this happens then all of the stats are skewed!  Don't get me wrong though, even with some of these frustrations this app is still my preferred app when I'm running outside.

In October I began researching, once again, for ways to keep track of my various workouts.  There are so many resources out there that it can be overwhelming.  What I have found though, is to look for one that will meet your needs and give it a try (and keep with it), even if it's just writing it in a journal.  I came across Dailymile (www.dailymile.com).  It doesn't have a fancy app and you have to manually record your distance and time.  There are some apps out there that work in conjunction with dailymile, but I haven't given them a try yet.  So when I'm at the gym I let the treadmill keep track of my distance and time and during my cool down I go to www.dailymile.com from my phone and record my workout.  I can also record when I ride the bike, or do weight training or any combination!  The other great thing about dailymile is I was able to take all of the 'correct' history from Nike+ and manually key it into Dailymile so that the information is now all compiled into one location.  I really wish I would have kept track of my workouts from the very beginning. 

The purpose of tracking your workouts is to help hold yourself accountable, set goals for yourself and to also be encouraged along the journey to reaching personal goals!  It's also fun to share some of the stats with your kids! When I get discouraged about a workout, I can go back and see what my workouts looked like three months ago and see how they've changed.  The longer you stick with it, the more valuable the information.  Here's a couple screen shots of what my dailymile information looks like right now.  You can look at the data in several different formats.  For example the first screen shot shows information for all of my workouts from last week, but I could also change it to only show the runs (eliminating all of my cross training).  There's even features and reporting that I haven't tried yet! 

Here's a display of my workouts from last week:



Here's a fun display that shows my totals since I began tracking my workouts (it even shows how many donuts I've burned, LOL):


Dailymile also has a widget you can put on your blog or website (you can see mine on the right side of my blog).  It always displays my last workout and my total miles for the week, year and grand total! 


If you aren't already doing so, start tracking your workouts today, you will be encouraged!!! 

Blessings,

Krystal
Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Out with the Old in with the New!

After close to 500 miles it is officially time to retire my very first pair of running shoes!


I don't think I will ever be able to get rid of these shoes as they are such a great reminder of how this journey started.  Simply putting one foot in front of the other!

I've recently had some pain in my feet when I run and my toes were really starting to hurt and after evaluating the mileage on my first pair of shoes, I realized it was time for a new pair.  I started doing some research and reading reviews on different brands and styles of running shoes and let me just say that is quite the overwhelming task!  

I came across these Brooks PureCadence (http://www.zappos.com/brooks-purecadence-black-anthracite-purple-magic) shoes and after trying them on, I quickly realized 'WOW, I really did need a new pair of running shoes.'  They had great reviews and were a reasonable price as well.  Gotta love Zappos!


I'm so excited to give them a try tomorrow morning!!!

If you are just getting started with any physical activity, make sure you start with a good pair of shoes, it's definitely worth it!!!

Blessings,

Krystal

Monday, January 21, 2013

Homemade Smoked Pizza

I still haven't wrapped my mind around the fact that I actually ran 13.1 miles.  My body is still recovering and I'm looking forward to my workout tomorrow morning.  After running a half marathon (on the treadmill) last Saturday it was time to spend the evening relaxing and enjoying my family.  Although I've had to adjust my diet quite a bit as I've added more distance to my runs, I occasionally still enjoy a splurge with a family favorite meal.  As a kid one of my absolute favorite meals my mom made was homemade pizza.

Here is the recipe that my Mom always used to make pizza with our twist - smoke it on the Traeger!  My dear husband usually turns the Traeger on high (with the pizza stone in it) as I begin the pizza dough so that it's hot and ready when we're done putting it together.

Combine:
 1 1/2 Cups of warm water
3 Tablespoons Oil
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of yeast over mixture.

Add 4 1/2 Cups of flour


Spread corn meal onto pizza peal.


Roll pizza dough out to the size of the pizza peal


I have found that folding the pizza dough in half to put onto the pizza peal, will help keep it's shape.




Put your favorite homemade or store bought pizza sauce on.


Top with your favorite toppings and cheese!  The kids love putting toppings on the pizza!


Now it's time to put it on the pizza stone that's already hot in the Traeger!  
The corn meal helps the pizza slide onto the pizza stone.


20 minutes later the pizza is ready to cut and enjoy!  Combine with a tossed salad and movie and you're guaranteed to have a lovely evening!



Blessings,

Krystal













Sunday, January 20, 2013

Preparing for the Week

Our weeks can be so busy!  With early morning workouts, I have to search for time saving tips and organizing methods for our mornings.  One simple thing we do every Sunday afternoon/evening is put away all of the clean clothes and then organize outfits for the week.  This has saved a lot of time (and tears) when it's time to get ready for the day.  At the beginning of the school year I was researching fun ways for kids to organize their clothes for the week.  I came across these clothes dividers https://www.etsy.com/transaction/90748285 on etsy.  I contacted the seller and had her customize them to the days of the week.  It was such a fun and inexpensive way to get Kylee excited about planning for her week.

Here's Miss Kylee all smiles while she gets ready for her week!


This makes me smile!  One less battle and a great time saver! 


Now off to get my clothes ready for the week!

Blessings,

Krystal

Friday, January 18, 2013

Why so early?

I'm sure many of you can relate to the fact that being a child of God, wife, and a mother can be a balancing act. It can be extremely difficult to balance the various demands of each role.  I went through a season of my life where I struggled a lot with keeping a good balance with all of the daily demands and I ended up neglecting those that I love the most.  Even things that are good and serve the Lord can hinder our relationship with Him and our family!

These were some difficult lessons to learn and through it my family and I had to seriously consider the things and events we were a part of and carefully consider what we were going to participate in.  After Kylee started Kindergarten we were absolutely amazed about how many different people and organization that were trying to tap into our precious family time (again there are a lot of good causes and groups but that doesn't mean we should participate in them all).  Early this summer we had decided we were not going to commit to anything outside of our daily obligations this year except for being involved in the AWANA program which we could do as a family!  I'm so grateful for this decision my husband and I made.  Our schedules still stay pretty full but at least an evening at home TOGETHER is no longer a rarety like it had been for a period of time.  These precious babies are growing so fast, I just don't want to miss it!

This leads to why a few days a week I get up at 3:40 AM (which I never imagined I would ever do)!  It's so important for me to get my workouts in and it's equally important that I get them done guilt free.  Slipping out of bed and out of the house to go workout while the rest of my family is still asleep just makes me smile.  I will admit though that there are some days where I struggle to get out of bed and GO RUN and on those days there's definitely not a smile on my face, but by the time I'm done, I'm ready to take on the rest of my day!

Keep in mind that when this became my schedule I had to adjust many other areas of my life!  My devotion time had to be moved to the evening, which I didn't think would fit me as well, but I have found that I sleep much better after spending time in God's word!  I also had to adjust the time I go to bed the night before a 'super' early morning to get the necessary sleep.

The key is establishing a schedule that fits you AND your family and keep at it.  It will get easier over time!  Now you know why there are days that I get up at a 'not so appealing' time.  It's because of the most precious people in my life!  With that I leave you with the verse Romans 12:2, which is a great reminder to seek His will in ALL we do (even our time of day to workout).

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.


Blessings,

Krystal


Monday, January 14, 2013

A weekend to rest

Last week was such a long week on all levels, including physically, spiritually, and mentally. It was definitely time for a relaxing weekend and some time to REST. God clearly created our bodies to need rest. My little brother and his girlfriend came to visit. We didn't get to see them over Christmas, so it was a much awaited visit.

The only words of wisdom and encouragement I share with you with this post is to make sure you find time to rest and enjoy those closest to you! It is easy to lose site of that when trying to accomplish any goal!

Here's a glimpse of my weekend.

My little brother gave the kiddos remote control tractors for Christmas. I'm not sure who enjoyed them more:


It was SO cold all weekend, that we definitely enjoyed some time snuggled on the couch, playing the wii and lots and lots of giggles!  Here's me definitely enjoying some snuggle time.


And of course it wouldn't be a relaxing weekend without this wonderful man (aka my dear husband).  I love him so much!

Blessings to you this week and don't forget to make time to rest!

Krystal


Sunday, January 13, 2013

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Granola


For quite some time now my favorite and most frequent breakfast is granola, yogurt and some fruit (typically frozen fruit).  I had been buying granola cereal but was tired of how overly crunchy they were and the raisins in them were always as hard as a rock.  I reached out to my Facebook friends for suggested recipes for homemade granola.  Several friends shared some great recipes.  Here's the first one I tried and it is SO good.  My kids and husband like it too (I may have to hide some of it so they don't eat it all)!  I can't wait to try different variations of this recipe in the future!


Homemade Pumpkin Spice Granola 

(adapted from www.skinnytaste.com)


Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well and pat dry with paper towel
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts (or other seed/or nut)
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup honey (used fresh honey from my mom and dad)
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp pumpkin spice
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Spread oats and quinoa out on a parchment lined baking pan. Toast in the oven 10 minutes, stirring once.

Remove the oats from the oven, pour the toasted oats into a medium bowl and add the ground flaxseeds, pine nuts, pecans and dried fruit.
Reduce oven to 300° F.

In a second medium bowl, combine honey, pumpkin puree, oil, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Pour over oats and stir together with a spatula. Spread back onto a baking sheet and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until golden.

Makes 3 2/3 cups.


Saturday, January 12, 2013

A hard week or a lesson learned?

This week I got back into focusing on getting some more miles in and some additional cross training done. It was also an eye opening week for me as I realized I had fallen into a trap. The trap of thinking that if you can't run the entire goal distance you are weak.  Monday was a short run of 3.5 miles and some dumbbells and then Wednesday morning I had set a goal for myself to run 10 miles. As I got started I could tell it was going to be a tough run. My feet hurt, my stomach hurt and I just had a poor attitude. I even had to take a few walking breaks. I was so incredibly discouraged, especially after running 12 miles last week.  I was only able to finish 9.25. This was the first time since I've started running that I didn't meet a daily distance goal I had set for myself.

Over my lunch break on Wednesday I decided to do some reading on some blogs and various research to see how others cope with a bad run as I knew I wasn't the first person to feel this discouraged after a run.  I came across several encouraging post as well as being introduced to the Galloway run/walk method.  I had heard of the method several times but never really understood  it.  It's a method of running a certain amount of time then walking then repeating.  On Thursday morning I did some cross training.  I rode the bike in the gym for 6 miles and then did some dumbbells.  Friday morning came and after being so discouraged Wednesday I wasn't really looking forward to it and almost didn't even get out of bed to go (but I'm so glad I did).  I decided to not set my goal too high and use an approach that would still push me but not push me too hard.  So here's what I did, I ran two miles then walked a quarter of a mile, and then repeated several times to complete 9 miles.  I also increased my speed with each interval.  It was a much better finish to the week.  Although my miles per run were less this week I was able to run 21.75 miles this week, which is more than I have ever done.  I learned such a valuable lesson this week.  It's okay if you need to take a walk break in between running AND it's okay to have a bad run!  After such a long journey this week, I leave you with this simple but encouraging reminder.



Blessings,

Krystal
Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A little exercise THEN we'll work!

So even with a 3 year old little boy, I'm still learning about how to raise a boy (and know it will be a lifelong process)!  Working with my little girl came a little more natural than this silly boy.  Our family is all involved with the AWANA program, which we love.  Kylee is a Sparky, Jayce is a Cubbie and both Josh and I help with the kids as well.  It is a fantastic program to help encourage kids to learn God's word and learning to make it a priority.  We love Wednesday nights and appreciate all who make it possible.

Anyways, the evenings that lead up to Wednesday nights can be entertaining to say the least.  Memorizing bible verses for Jayce is a bit of a challenge.  He's either making us laugh or we get to the point of frustration where we need to call for backup!  After enjoying our Christmas break it was time to get focused again!

After working with the older boys at AWANA Joshua decided to try something new with Jayce last night.  Josh realized that the older boys focus so much better if they're able to get rid of some energy first.  So here they go... a few push ups.


A few sit-ups...



And a few laps around the house and I think we're ready to focus!

I was amazed how much better our little dude focused by doing a little exercising first... well doesn't that sound familiar, as it has definitely helped me focus as well!  What an amazing Daddy this man is!

Blessings,

Krystal

Monday, January 7, 2013

Dirty Girl Mud Run - The Dunamis Divas

The day was fast approaching for the Dirty Girl Mud Run last September after we had trained all summer.  I can't tell you how much it motivated us to have this race on the calendar way in advance and to just simply have a goal.  The Dirty Girl Mud Run is a 5k mud run/obstacle course.  This mud run is not timed, which certainly decreased the pressure.  The three of us were anxious, excited and maybe a little nervous.  Before race day Amy came up with our team name (which we will continue to use for future events).  Our team name is "The Dunamis Divas."


Dunamis is the greek word for "power."  Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power (Dunamis) of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes..."  What a great verse to help inspire us for this race and races to come and to be reminded of the race we all endure each and every day!

We decided to have temporary tattoos made with our team name for us to wear, as well as our precious kiddos!


   Here's a picture of the kiddos there to support their mom's.


This was so fun to do as a family.  Having family there to support us (and take pictures) was so wonderful and a day we will never forget!  Here's a picture of my dear husband and our kiddos.


This one photo captured such a special moment for me on this day.  I love this little dude!

Well enough being cute, now it's time to get dirty!  Those that know me well know how much I enjoy playing in the mud, although I must say the water/mud was a little chilly on this September day.  Here we are getting warmed up at the starting line and practicing the signal for needing medical attention!

Here we are on our first obstacle!  It made us feel like kids again bouncing down.

Our kids and men were waiting for us towards the end of the race and captured some fun photos of us as we finished!




Look at these shoes!
I will forever love these Dunamis Divas as we have such a special bond that I will hold close to my heart as we began this journey together!

There's nothing more valued than accountability, encouragement and friendship among Sisters in Christ!  Love you girls and I can't wait to do another run with you!


If you've never done a fun run like this, I highly recommend you find a group of friends and put it on the calendar!  
You'll be glad you did!!!

Blessings,

Krystal 

Time for a New Playlist

Well it was definitely time for a new playlist!  I've been listening to pandora stations for quite some time but the annoying 'Are you Still Listening' feature was getting old as it would always happen part way through a long run, and I don't want to pay for the subscription!  I also like to listen to a variety of music (as you'll see from my playlist) so I decided to put together my own.  It's amazing how having a new playlist helps with the motivation.  Thanks to those ladies who shared some of their favorite workout songs!  I enjoyed adding them to my list.

I came across a really neat website that helped me find some upbeat songs!  The website is jog.fm.  It allows you to search by BPM (beats per minute) depending on how fast of songs you like.  You can also search by genre (which I really liked).  Check it out!

I need to get some more added as it is not long enough for my long runs.  So hear it is (and yes it's definitely a variety of music), enjoy!


Blessings,

Krystal

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Nike Training Club App

My dear husband is snowmobiling this weekend, it's cold outside, my oldest isn't feeling well, BUT I still needed to get a little workout in.  I found this app called Nike Training Club from another blog and gave it a try.  You can pick from a variety of workouts and my kiddos even joined in for a while.  I'm sure the image of the three of us doing wall squats together was entertaining.

And best of all, it's FREE!  Check it out!







How it all began...

It's hard to believe that 8 months ago this new journey began.  A very dear friend and I had been working out together early in the mornings several times a week for a couple of years.  This was not just a great time to work out but an everlasting friendship emerged.  One morning while working out my dear friend said she's always wanted to do one of those mud runs and me and my infinite wisdom said, 'we should find one and do it.'  Later that day I was definitely having mixed emotions as I have NEVER in my life run more than the required 1 mile run in school or the running required in high school volleyball (which wasn't much) or the quick run out to a vehicle and back if it's bitter cold outside!  This by no means prepared me for what was to come.

After discussing it in Sunday school with another friend we found a 'Dirty Girl Mud Run' http://www.godirtygirl.com that was going to be in September 2012 (more to come on this event) so we began the training.  We began with the Couch to 5k program which I highly recommend for beginners.  It's an app you can install on your phone or iPod and gives you a daily workout that you can listen to simultaneously with music on your phone.  You begin with walking/running intervals and work your way up to running a full 5k.  I then began using other apps like the Nike+, daily mile, and others which I will share more details about in a later post.  

And so that's how it all started.  God can use all sorts of ways to draw us closer to Him and I never dreamed running would be one of them!    Stay tuned for more about this journey!  






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