my first half marathon!

my first half marathon... and my very first race! yeah, i went for it straight out the gate. 

i signed up for a half marathon because i had been running a lot, and running further and further with no real goals... just running to run. which was a lot of fun, but having something to work to is more fun! so i was looking into races and i saw an ad for the Title 9 Mermaid Run. And it was on sale. And it was months out. So why not!? so i signed up for it! 

here's how i trained for it: 

i signed up for it at the beginning of November. At that point I had gotten up to about 9.5 miles. So from that point, my plan was to increase my mileage by about 10% each week. And throughout November I kept up with that, mostly. I was running just over 10 miles by the beginning of December. 

But December was a rough month. I was sick on and off throughout the entire month which really threw off my training schedule for the race. By the end of December, I still hadn't broke 10 miles. It was a tough month of training. 

So come January, I had to fit in A LOT of runs that I was planning on spreading out a lot further apart.January had my first 11 mile run, the next week was 12 mile run, then the 13.1 mile run, which put me 3 weeks out from the race. Let me tell you, those runs were not fun. It was a lot, and it was really tough on my body and honestly, it wasn't a lot of recovery time so my body was exhausted AF. My first half marathon run through was at a 2:13:36 and most of it felt pretty terrible. All of run times had gotten much slower than they had been in November, which was pretty frustrating, but i figured just finishing the half marathon race would be success enough. 

But I did make myself have a goal of a sub- 2 hour half marathon. which meant cutting off 13 and a half minutes off my first run through.

I figured I could definitely beat the original time because my outside training load would be significantly lighter than it was during the other weeks, but cutting 13 mins off was a long shot. i had to cut off over a minute each mile for it to be possible. 

the weeks leading up to the race i tapered off my runs. 10 miles 3 weeks out, 8 miles 2 weeks out, and not much the week of. 

the week of the race, Monday was fairly average workout wise and after that everything was really, really light. the farthest i ran the week of the race was 3 miles. and i did only one HIIT run session for 25 mins, and that was on Wednesday (my last real workout [minus kettlebell sport] of the week). I rested Thursday (minus KB sport) and Friday. 

Then on Saturday it was race day!

the days leading up to the race I was drinking over 150 oz of water every day. 

the day before the race, i ate a lot of fruits and easy tasty carbs. all of the foods I knew my body could process easily so i wouldn't feel terrible while running. so dinner was hashbrowns, canadian bacon, and eggs. 

Race day: 

woke up early AF, drank a cup of coffee, and headed out to the race site! on the way i snacked on welch's fruit snacks, which is basically the only thing i eat before/during runs. 

got there and sipped on water and had a really nice extended warm up. i was ready to go pretty early on so I had to keep on moving to keep warm. 

FINALLY the race started and once i got going, i basically kept the same pace throughout the entire race. it was suuuper convenient because there was race pacers. basically holding signs saying what the pace they were going for were at. i ended up chilling with the 2:00 hour pace guy for about 85% of the race. after mile 10 or so i broke off and went a little further ahead and tried to push my pace just a little bit. 

tbh, i don't think really hit a full on wall during the race, but i did definitely feel my knees and ankles getting progressively more ache-y. 

anyway, the last couple of miles i was just focused on one foot in front of the other and the third best moment was seeing that 12 mile marker, second best was the 13 mile marker, and obviously the best moment of the race was finishing it! and finishing it under 2 hours!!! (the timer said the 1:58:54 and the chip timer clocked me in at 1:58:47!) 

as soon as i finished it i got water and basically collapsed on the ground chugging water. my knees and ankles were shot. it was rough. but i was outrageously proud of myself. and once i had a minute of sitting colt and i walked around so my muscles didn't get too tight. 

the worst part was the MILE long walk back to the parking lot that had my car. that was tough. my legs were not having it. 

but overall...  it was a really great time. the race was better than any of my runs that i had done in training and i was able to maintain a really great speed throughout. and i will definitely do another race in the future... but probably not a half marathon again. not for a while at least. my body took a beating during this training cycle. and the recovery time was honestly longer than i would like it to be, especially because i am training for more than one event. plus it would be fun to push my pace on a shorter distance. and then it would also save A LOT of time to do shorter runs cause training for long distance races just takes long time. :) 

also, shout out to Title 9 & Mermaid Series for putting on a great race. Now, I don't have anything to compare to, but everything went super smoothly and started right on time and the route was super easy to follow and it was really great. definitely had zero stress on the part of the actual race day because of it. so much appreciation to them! cause let's be real, i can find a whole lot to be anxious about, so it was a miracle and a half that i didn't have any of that on race day (minus just general pre-competition jitters)

so there's my thoughts on my first race. definitely not my last race. but man do i need some time to rest up from this one. my legs, hips, knees, and ankles are definitely still really, really tight from the race and i think it'll end up being a few days before i'm back at 100% but i am really, really proud of myself for doing this race and for hitting my goals! 

also, shout out to Title 9 & Mermaid Series for putting on a great race. Now, I don't have anything to compare to, but everything went super smoothly and started right on time and the route was super easy to follow and it was really great. definitely had zero stress on the part of the actual race day because of it. so much appreciation to them! cause let's be real, i can find a whole lot to be anxious about, so it was a miracle and a half that i didn't have any of that on race day (minus just general pre-competition jitters)

if you're looking to train for a race or for anything else... contact me so we can work on a program for you! check out my instagram or my facebook or just drop me an email! 

if you have any questions about my training or anything else... just leave a comment! :) 

my first month of intuitive eating

so to start 2018 off i decided i was going to stop dieting, stop counting calories, stop counting macros because 1) i was tired and bored with it, 2) i didn't want to be constantly promoting a dieting lifestyle to my sister and her friends, 3) i don't want to be constantly promoting dieting to clients cause who knows what they've been through and 4) i really, genuinely needed a change in my life. 

so here we are at about a month down of intuitive eating feeling pretty good! so i thought i would talk about what i've changed from what i was doing before and how that's effected me and my training and life. 

first off, what the heck is intuitive eating?? 

intuitive eating is basically "normal" eating. no tracking, no guilt, no values attached to foods, no rules. the official definition is: an approach developed to help people heal from the side effects of chronic dieting, an intuitive eater is a person who makes food choices without experiencing guilt or an ethical dilemma, honors hunger, respects fullness, and enjoys the pleasure of eating. (via benourished.org). 

which seems pretty simple at first glance but most people have had various food rules for their entire life. what foods are "good" or "bad" and have never not had some sort of rules attached to eating. for me, i don't remember a time where there wasn't some voice in the back of my head telling me that i should/shouldn't eat something because of whatever rules i had created for myself. and for almost for the last three years I was actively tracking every calorie, then every macro i was eating almost every single day. 

so here are the changes i made when i switched over to intuitive eating: 

1.  stopped tracking my calorie intake. 
   1. Obviously. No logging food. Which was weird cause I typically just did it on habit/routine. So I had to stop myself a few times. 
2. stopped logging my exercise
   1. this was a big one for me. i really like seeing that big calorie burn number so i think this was the biggest adjustment and also the best change i made. i would keep working out just to keep burning calories even when it wasn't productive anymore. so this has been such a positive change in my life. 
3. listened to my body's cues and cravings
   1. though i had been listening to my hunger cues before, it was a little different in this case. like, i almost always listened to my body and only ate when i was hungry throughout the day but i would also stop eating even if i was hungry towards the end of the day. so with intuitive eating, i allowed myself to eat food later in the day if i was hungry 
   2. cravings~ one of the biggest things about dieting is constantly fighting your cravings. and so now i just ate the foods i wanted without stressing about the calorie intake. i ate regular ass pancakes, chili dogs, snow cones, pizza,  regular ice cream, french fries,  and didn't feel bad about it. but also, i ate lots of nutritious regular foods. eggs, avocado toast, chicken, veggies, and rice. it all balanced out real quick. 

and what changes did i feel? 

1. my workouts felt better. i have been eating more carbs than i was previously. like, i wasn't ever restricting carbs, but i found that i have been eating more than i was before and that it felt great. ALSO - i have been eating less cheese and dairy and fats in general. i noticed that it wasn't making me feel as great so i stopped eating them as much. and i have felt the difference. 
2. i have been less stressed about food. (obviously). i used to spend a lot of time thinking about food... and i do still tbh, cause i like food, but i'm not thinking about how many calories are in food... i'm more excited to get to eat tasty foods! 
3. weight. i am pretty sure i have gained weight over the past month... but i have also basically stopped weighing myself as often. so i am not stressed about it, like i have been in the past. mind you, i would like to stay lean... but listening to my body may mean there is some weight gain involved until i get this all figured out and learning to be okay with that is really cool and gonna be better for my health long term way more than pushing my body to a lower weight just cause i see a number i don't like on the scale.

so that's my first month of intuitive eating down, and a lifetime to go. i am very happy i made the switch! i have a lot more to learn, but i feel like this can get me in a better place to help more people with their health and fitness goals in a productive way. it's tough to relearn your eating habits, but these are skills that are needed to last a lifetime and i'm looking forward to how this can help me grow and help me help more people in achieving their goals in a healthy way. 

have questions or comments?? leave them in the comments below or on facebook or isntagram! 

need a little more guidance on your fitness journey? check out my training packages here or email me at tiffnessfitness@gmail.com so we can start working together to start achieving your goals! 

favorite health & fitness apps

getting healthy and fit can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be! 

there are SO MANY resources you can use to make your health journey as easy as possible! 

I have used a lot of different apps over the last few years but the following are my favorite and most consistently used apps! 

1. My Fitness Pal 

I mentioned that one previously but I can honestly say that MFP has been the most valuable asset in my weight loss & fitness journey. I use MFP every single day. 

It has a HUGE database of food so you can easily log your caloric intake. And not only does it track calories, but also you can track your macros (carbs, fat, protein), your sugar intake, vitamins, just about everything you can think of when it comes to nutrition. 

AND then it also allows you to track your workouts! Though these calorie burns are definitely estimations, it's still a great way to get yourself motivated to exercise! 

You can track your weight and measurements and add progress photos as you go (the addition of progress photos is so awesome!). It really helps to see your progress and what sort of trend you weight and measurements are taking. 

My favorite part of MFP is the community. If you use MFP go onto the message boards and add people! I promise you won't regret it. Having people to cheer you on when you workout or hit logging streaks or having a moment of weakness is a HUGE help on a weight loss journey. Having a support system is the easiest way to get going on a health journey and MFP is full of people who will motivate and inspire you! 

2. Nike Run Club

Since quitting my job I have gotten to start running outdoors a lot more, which has been SO GREAT. I used it in the past, but I have been using it now way more than ever. 

Nike Run Club will track your mileage, route, duration, ascent, splits, and your estimated calorie burn. It knows the temperature and your average pace. You can also track what sort of terrain you're running on (road/trail/track), how difficult the run was, and your shoes (so you can know how many miles you've put on your running shoes). 

There are different ways to track your runs, too! You can go by mileage, duration, mark speed intervals, or just a quick start (with no specific goal). All of them are great. It really depends on the day and my goals, but I have used them all. And throughout them you'll get updates on where you are in your run (how many minutes or miles left), your pace, and some motivation from a Nike coach or celebrity (Kevin Hart has been cheering me on lately!). 

And, my favorite part (because I'm competitive) are the "Achievements." These can be your longest run, farthest run, or your speediest 1K/1 mile/5k. Plus if you run several times a week, you get an achievement, if you hit a certain amount of miles in a month, you get an achievement. I really like achievements. Competing against Past Me is the best. 

They also have weekly challenges that motivate me to get moving on days I'm being really lazy (shout out to you "Just Do It Sundays"). Other challenges come up, as well. There is a community feature that I haven't gotten into, but I have heard good things about. Once I give it a try, I'll update this! :) 

3. BodySpace 

A recent addition to my "Health & Fitness" folder, but SUCH an awesome app if you do (or want to get into) weight training. (that's any kind of weight too!) They have a huge library of exercises that you can look through and find what you want to do! 

I use BodySpace to track my weight lifting program. It helps me to measure my set/rep schemes, calculate 1-Rep Maximums, and to see how much weight I moved in a given workout. 

Personally, I use my own program but there are SO MANY really, really fantastic programs from world-renowned trainers and you can just click into and fill in the data and know you're getting a great workout. And if you make your own you can go back and track from that workout. 

Also a community feature on this app. You can add friends and like and cheer on people and ask questions about their workouts. 

To be fair, I basically do the bare minimum on here and just track my workouts and log on off, but still definitely one of my favorites. 

4. Tabata Timer 

If you follow me on instagram you'll know that I really love HIIT. Tabata Timer is plain and simple and easy to use. I use it several times a week! 

You set your work time and rest times. And add in how many cycles and how many rounds and your rests between each round. 

Nothing fancy, but everything I need in a timer app. 

Honorable Mentions: 

Instagram! (great community and so many great people to follow!)
 Spotify! (gotta have music for a workout!) 
VideoShop (can slow down video so you can check form!)

Those are my current faves! Do you have any others I should know about? Let me know in the comments!