Where have I been?

Me at  the Baltimore Half Marathon in October 2015

Last time you heard from me, I was lacking my motivation to run. Boy was that true. Over the last couple years, I have struggled with lack of motivation, sidelines from injuries and, a busy lifestyle.

Guess what!!! I am back!

I have decided to put myself first these days. I have been running and training. My last race was in October last year at the Baltimore Half. I ran on a sprained ankle and it was pure hell. I spent the rest of the year taking care of my ankle and getting back on track.

Now, as of February of this year...I am back on track. I am back to running with The Steeplechasers and, with my running best friends. I have signed up for The Coastal Delaware Half in April and plan to crush it! I am hoping to PR. But, lets be real...I haven't run "Fast" since 2012. I will try my hardest that's for sure.

So, what's the future for this blog?

I am hoping to come here weekly to let you know about my weekly training runs, talk about some of the products I am currently using, I'd still like to post race reviews too.

What about you guys? What would you like to see me post about?

I am also starting a 6 week weight loss/fitness contest with some friends as a local gym. Maybe I can discuss some of how that goes as well.

I hope to see some of my old blog readers back!! I've missed everyone!

Motivation Monday

Oh my goodness...It's already almost October, where did September go?

First off, I want to sincerely thank all of my favorite sista's from Mamavation for continuing to send me twitter dm's and tweets asking me how I was doing this past week. I am so amazed at how supportive this group really is.

Last week, I was extremely busy with stuff around the house and, a couple personal issues I needed to take care of and deal with. I was absent from Twitter and, I failed to post anything to my blog. To be honest with everyone I wasn't as active as I wanted to be. I was moving alot around the house cleaning and running errands but, I didn't sweat it out like I truly wanted.

Good news is, this week is a new week. I am officially starting fresh! I have promised myself to get on a schedule. A lifestyle schedule is what I would call this. I need to make time for Exercise, Mommy duties, Housewife duties, My blog, My extra activities. I really don't know how some of you mom's do it. Do you clean on certain days?  Do you write all your post on one day and, schedule it to post another day?Do you work out in the am or pm's? If you have any advice at all let me know, I will take all the advice I can get.

I am so excited this week is the start of the Mamavation mom auditions! I can't wait to see everyone videos and, to follow a new set of mom's through their bootcamp.

BIG congratulations to Joanna of @way2gomom for being the Sista of the Week!

This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Pete Cohen and his new nutritional program. Wow!! What a great prize to win. If you don't already know about Pete Cohen you seriously need to check him out. He is so inspirational! I am crossing my fingers for this prize as I need all the help I can get when it comes to what my body needs nutritionally.

I will leave you guys with a couple pics from yesterday. My son and, I participated in another running event. He ran the 1 mile fun run and, I ran the 5k! I was extremely proud of myself after this race. I managed to shave a minute off my last 5k time. Especially since this course was alot more harder with its many hills compared to the last event I ran which was mostly a flat course. I can't wait to continue getting faster and stronger!

My last week and I hit a goal!!

I can't believe it's the last week of Mamavation mom and, the Move it and Lose it Campaign. Jenny and, Lisa have done so well. I can't wait to see their journey to running a 5k!

Well, as everyone who follows my blog knows I entered the Move it and Lose it Campaign 7 weeks ago. It seems to have went by rather quickly. I am very proud of what I have accomplished in the last 7 weeks. I've joined a gym, quit drinking soda, ran a 5k,  loss some weight, but overall I have seemed to accomplish what I thought I'd never be able to accomplish. I have gotten my family on board with wanting to live a healthy lifestyle. My children are eating healthier options and, being a lot more physically active. Next week my oldest son, Big C is going off to Kindergarten. We have already discussed the options he has for food at school. We have opted to pack a healthy lunch and, if he wants he will be allowed to purchase a school lunch every now and again. I now feel that I am ready for the choices ahead on what to pack him because, of what I've learned the past 7 weeks from all the Mamavation Sista's!

So, I know why most of you are here...How much has Shannon lost? This week Ive lost a total of 4.5lbs. I wasn't expecting to lose any this after last week's big loss but, hey I'm not complaining. This past week I completed week 1 of C25k. It went great. I want to also start incorporating a little more weightlifting into my workouts too. I feel I'm losing alot of the weight but I think I might be losing a little to fast. I don't want to lose muscle mass.

My goals for this week:

Finish week 2 of C25k

Work in lifting weights to my schedule

Drink 100oz of water

Help support my fellow Sista's on Twitter

Comment on all the Sista's blogs this week

Take my mind off losing weight (the numbers are starting to get to me) and, put more focus on being more active.

Here are my numbers and, pics this week as Move it and Lose it Challenge comes to an end! Thank you Leah at Mamavation for everything you have done and, continue to do for Mamavation. Since my application for Mamavation Mom I have lost a total of 30.5lbs Wowza!! I'm so happy! Here's to the next 20! :)

164.5

Before 07/9/2010 After 08/20/2010

Before 07/9/2010 After 08/20/2010

I have also learned from the above pictures those shorts were probably the worst thing to wear for these pictures. They dont lay flat and, bunch alot. Oh well.

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV.

SISTA OF THE WEEK: And a BIG congratulations to Shawnee Halligan @ShawneeH for being the Sista of the Week! Thank you Shawnee for showing my blog some love and helping support me on Twitter. You Rock!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Earth Footwear. The Move it and Lose it Campaign would not be possible if it weren't for Earth Footwear. Thank you so much for being such a great sponsor to Mamavation. Their shoes are incredible and, cute too! Come back later this week to check out a review I did on the pair of Earth Footwear I received at the Twitter Party at the beginning of this campaign.

See everyone at Mamavation Tv!!

It's paying off!

This past week has been pretty awesome! I totally felt back in the swing of things.

My successes: I worked out for a total of 30 min everyday! I felt so much better this past week. I drank around 90-100oz everyday. I also managed to eat pretty good as well. I finished a 5k! (More to come about this later on another post!) I actually feel pretty high on life at the moment.

My failures: I can't really call this a failure for the week, it's really a failure from the past couple weeks. I'm not running. I kind of stopped running at some point during this journey to try to lose weight. I am still getting in my workouts but, I really need to get back into running. Another failure for me this week was there are a couple personal things in my life right now that have been bringing me a little down. I haven't been getting alot of sleep and, Ive been pretty stressed about this. I have a really bad ulcer that acts up when I am stressed or eat the wrong types of foods.

My goals for this week: Run!!! I am back to the drawing board. My weapon of choice, Couch 2 5k program. I have another 5k I have signed up to run in September so, I for sure want to beat my time. Another goal for me this week is to get to bed at a decent time. I have been dragging in the morning. Lastly, I still need to get my butt in gear on Twitter. I can't seem to make time to visit. My oldest is starting school next week so I think I'll have alot more time after that happens. Please know I support all my sistah's!!

A quick question I'd also like some input on. My oldest son (5 yrs.) went to the 5k with me this past weekend and now wants to run one with me. There were a bunch of children running and, I think this is why he got kinda bummed about not running and now wants to run one. Do you personally think 5 is too young to run 3.1 miles?

Now for the really great news!! My scale pic...I lost a whopping total of 8lbs this week. Holy Moly! I'm shocked!! I knew I did a pretty good job but had no clue this well! That is a total of 26lbs since my application for Mamavation mom a little less than 2 months ago!! I am super stoked!!

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV

SISTA OF THE WEEK: A big congratulations to Kimberly @christlikemommy! Congrats girl you definitely deserve this, you are always there supporting everyone!

SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesday's over Twitter.

See everyone on Mamavation Tv!!

Get my butt in Gear Monday!!

Happy Monday everyone!! This past week was a pretty good week for me. I reached a couple goals I wanted to reach. There were a couple I didn't quiet reach just yet but, will continue this week to make that happen.

So, this weekend is "The Weekend" I will be participating in my first 5k since last running one 10 yrs ago. I'm extremely nervous. I don't think I'm ready for what I want to accomplish. I think I set to high of standards for myself. I did not train as hard as I wanted to. After I get this race under my belt it will be full speed ahead to train for the next ones coming up in Sept and, Oct. I would love any and all advice to help me reach my goals on these next to races. I'm going to kind of use this race to give me a reminder of what I need to do to finish a 5k. I've ran some 5k's on the treadmill and a couple on the road but, they weren't outstanding. My goal is to finish this 5k with out stopping. Wish me luck!!

Last week I did pretty well with getting in my workouts at the gym and at home. As of this week I will be adding more running to my workouts!

My goals for this week:

Commit time to be more active on Twitter.

Commit time to comment on the sista's post's.

Drink more water. (I have skimped on this and have been feeling super dehydrated)

Add more running to my workout.

My Scale Pics:

I lost .5lb this week resulting in a total of 18lbs since my application to Mamavation Mom!! I'm so happy with my results so far!!

My Measurements:

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV.

SISTA OF THE WEEK: And a BIG congratulations to Julie Mansfield @jamnsfld76 for being the Sista of the Week!

 

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Lori @gutimom as an Avon Representative. Here is all the swag she is giving away:

Cherry Blossom Naturals Set - $32 full retail value

Shower Gel, Body Lotion, Body Spray, Cosmetic Bag

Haiku Fragrance and Body Set - $49 full retail value

Shower Gel, Body Lotion, Shimmering Body Powder, Roll On Antiperspirant, Perfume

Foot Works Hodge Podge - $33 full retail value

Watermelon Foot Scrub, Spray Gel, Cooling Lotion; Original Conditioning Foot Soak, Exfoliating Bar Soap; Green Tea & Mint Exfoliating Scrub

Advance Techniques Professional Hair Care 2-IN-1 Healthy Shine Shampoo and Conditioner (Daily Results) - $4.00 full retail value

Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus - Expedition Insect Repellent with SPF 30 Sunscreen Spray Pump with Vitamin E (Gentle Breeze) - $14 full retail value

Magix Face Perfecter with SPF 20 (Clear) - $10 full retail value

Spafinder Callous Remover - $10 full retail value

Spafinder Gel Eye Mask - $10 full retail value

These items will be divided up for the Blogging carnival winner AND a winner at Mamavation TV.

Wow!!! Thank you so much Lori! I love Avon item's. I actually used to be an Avon rep myself back in the day. I had to stop because I was buying more products than I was selling. Lol.

SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over twitter.

Getting back on track!

 This week went somewhat better. My overall fitness and eating was alot better. However, I felt extremely lazy this week. Even today as I write this I didn't really want to sit down and write it. I didn't make time for alot of things this week and, totally regret it. I HAVE to make these things priority this week.

Get in more exercise

Eat more clean

Make time to post at least 2 times on my blog.

Make time to visit other Mamavation posts.

Make time to show my support to the other sisters on Twitter!!

The scale pic doesn't look to horrible but, considering I'm loosing the pounds I just gained the past week, I'm not completely happy with it. Total this week I lost 6lbs. These 6lbs make up the overall 17.5lbs lost since joining Mamavation. Not to shabby I'd say!

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV.
SISTA OF THE WEEK: And a BIG congratulations to Rachel Steffen @RachelSteffen for being the Sista of the Week! Rachel has always been there for me!! She is such a kind person. She def deserved this title!! Congrats girl!
 
BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Gruve Solution. The Gruve is a handy little gadget that learns your body mechanics and then helps you burn more caloris throughout the day. Basically, it monitors how many calories you are burning and encourages you to burn more throughout the day by taking more steps, etc. And then it starts to vibrate on you when you are sitting too long. If you would like to be entered to win one please visit Mamavation's site and sign up to participate in this weeks Mamavation TV!
 
SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over twitter. (Or later if I get swamped) I can't thank the Sistahood enough for the kind support they have given me the past 3 months now!!
 

See everyone on Mamavation TV!

Nervously..excited

Today is the day @bookieboo makes the final 5 choices for the Mamavation mom campaign 5. I am so nervous to read her decision yet, so excited to continue on in the Mamavation mom journey if chosen or to compete in the move it and loose it campaign.

This week I faced a couple challenges. First of all I ended up hurting my bicep muscle in my good ole Body Pump class and ended up having to take an extra rest day. Lesson learned though, make sure you take a rest day in between Body Pump classes or you will regret it. Secondly as you all know it's the 4th of July weekend. I didn't binge eat but, I didn't eat exceptionally healthy like I should have. Saturday and Sunday I had deserts after my meal and, I'm not even a big dessert eater. I did drink lots of water due to the extremely hot temps here in Maryland. Then to top of my week Sunday after lunch I started feeling sick to my stomach and getting a sharp pain around my chest. This lasted all night I'm pretty sure that it is my ulcer back in action. So I didn't eat any of my healthy snacks or even dinner last night. I did wake up at 4 am still feeling pains but, also hunger pains so I did eat a slice of wheat bread.

So even though my food consumption wasn't on par. My fitness was pretty good with the exception of an extra off day. I made sure to hit the gym 5 days out of the 6 planned.

My goals for next week are to get in 6 days of exercise and to continue to eat healthy.

As far as the campaign goes, I just wanted to wish all the ladies good luck. This group of ladies are the best and I give all the credit in the world to @bookieboo for having to make this decision. No matter who gets chosen I will continue in my goals as well as helping to support the ladies chosen!!

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV.

SISTA OF THE WEEK: Congrats to @MMScarlett for being the Sista of the Week!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by @BSkinz. BSkinz is a fitness line for women full of patterned and colorful compression wear. The winner of this week's blogging carnival will get a bottom and sports bra of their choosing. The value will be about $50. @BSkinz look extremely cute, I would love to win these to wear to my 1st 5k in August!

Now for my Weigh in!!

I LOST 3lbs!! Wahoo!

Sticky Notes and Scale Pics

Congrats to all the ladies who are applying to The Mamavation campaign #5. All the ladies got up on Camera tonight to tell everyone a little about themselves and to, tell everyone why they want to be the next Mamavation mom. Everyone did so well! I think all of us moms are here competing for the same reasons. We are all un-healthy and want to be role models for our children. We all want to show our families what its like to live a healthy lifestyle.

Leah said a couple fantastic things tonight. “Your weight is only temporary. It does NOT define who you are.” This is so very true!! I love this quote so much that tonight I wrote it up on a sticky and taped it to my bathroom mirror just to keep reminding myself. She also made it quiet clear she wants to see that you are already making a difference.

So today I finally signed up to a gym! I am very excited about this. I am especially excited to take the Body Pump class!! I meet with the trainer tomorrow so he can do their introductory speech with me and show me around. I’ll let everyone know how that goes.

Lastly but most importantly, I need to show everyone out there. How important winning Mamavation mom means to be. (As if my shy self getting on cam isn’t enough) lol. Also how much it means to me to be one of the top 2.

Here it is with out further Adieu!! The infamous toe pic and measurements!!

Oh, and this pic was so last moment so I promise next week the toe pic will be 100% better!!

This will be my official Mamavation starting weight: 193lbs.

My Measurements:
Right Leg: 25in
Left Leg: 26 in.
Right Arm: 12.5 in.
Left Arm: 12 in.
Waist: 36 in.
Hips: 44 in.
Bust: 40 in.

"It takes 21 days to form a habit."

According to Pete Cohen it takes 21 days to form a habit. Pete Cohen "The Weightloss Guru" is one of the worlds leading life coaches.

I had the chance to try Pete Cohen's weightloss program out recently. I am only on day 4 and, am loving it already! It's helping me get to the dirty of why I choose some of my bad habits and, it helps me choose what tools to use to fight it.

As of right now I am in the process of using the following tools;

*Eating slowly: This is a huge one for me. I am always the first one done their meal.

*Getting at least 30 min of fitness a day

*Eating only when I'm hungry: Again this is another one for me that was a big gaining weight factor. I will constantly graze on food if I am at a party or, out to a bar with friends even when I'm not hungry. Another time I eat is when I am bored. I am turning that bored eating into running!

*Drinking Water: I quit drinking Diet Coke and guess what....I don't miss it at all anymore!! It was a struggle but, now I don't miss it at all. I drink only water and, have an occasional drink of crystal light.

*Listen to Pete's Relaxation MP3 daily: This MP3 is awesome so relaxing!!

Pete's program consist of 4 steps and 9 tools all in 21 days. To top that off he also provides meal plans, recipes, and a place for you to journal your thoughts and goals with the option to post them online to get live feedback!

To anyone who needs that extra push to kick some bad eating and, fitness habits I strongly recommend Pete Cohen's weightloss program. I will be back at the end of my 21 days to let you know if it's true that it infact takes 21 days to form a habit!!

Here's a look into what Pete does overseas in Great Britain!!