Elf on the Shelf Photo Contest Winner Collage

Jen Morgan's Ab Challenge and TransAmerican Run

I have been blogging this week about the different challenges I am doing to help keep me on track! Today, I wanted to tell you all about Jen Morgan's 30 Day Abs Challenge on Challenge Loop. Each week, Jen posts a workout for us to do, and there is a 30 Day calendar so that we know what to do and when. Lots of support as well, and I am loving how the workouts hurt make me feel stronger!

If you are looking to improve your abs, I definitely suggest jumping into this challenge!

Another challenge I have been doing, is the TransAmerican Run. I started this challenge *last* January, and it took me all year to get through Virginia. But wait, let me explain better! The TransAmerican Run is a virtual run across the country. After every run, walk, or bike ride you enter your mileage on your calendar, and it tells you where you are. You start in Virginia, which is a very wiiiiiiiide State, and it took me all year to get to Kentucky. What a party I had when I finally got there! And stayed there, lol. I will have another party when I finally get out of Kentucky, lol.  It is fun to see how far you get each month, and I always look forward to entering my runs!

Final Day of HBBC2012!

Today is the final day of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge! This challenge really kept me on my feet, and had my working out, even when I didn't feel like it!
Despite a cold, I ended the challenge strong! I was no where near the highest in points, but I wasn't the lowest either!
This week's workouts were:
55 minutes of Yoga for the Warrior with Bob Harper
5 mile run
1.6 mile beach walk
45 minutes of Skinny Sculpt
7 mile run
PLUS I planked every day! Today is actually day 32!

Could I have done better in this challenge? I think so. I skipped a few runs (due to illness) and I never tried the Workout of the Week.

Thank you to Run to the Finish for sponsoring this challenge, and all of the ladies at the HBBC2012 Facebook page for their support!!!

What challenges are you participating in right now?

2013 Achievement Board

This is my Achievement Board for 2013! It has my goals for the year, and every time I reach a goal, I color in the space! By the end of the year, I hope to have a full color board! Most are fitness related, some are blog/Facebook related, and some are life related. I really look forward to coloring in the spaces!
Want to see how it is coming along? It will be the cover photo on my Blog's Facebook page. So far, I have 2 spaces colored in for Twitter and Blog followers. A few great Blogging friends shared my pages and I got crazy new followers to start the new year!

Did you make goals for 2013?

My One Year Blogiversary!

Today marks the one year Anniversary of my first blog post! I cannot believe that one year ago, I was starting to train for my first Half Marathon, and in just over a week, I will be running the Disney Marathon! What a difference a year makes!

I am fighting an ugly cold, and am starting to lose, so I will keep this short and sweet! Thank you to all of my amazing Blogger Friends, and all of my followers here, and on Facebook. You are so amazing! I look forward to stalking meeting some of you in Disney next week!
Have a happy Thursday!

To all my blogger friends, how long have you been blogging?

Winter Challenges!

I have joined a few Winter Challenges to keep me focused as the new year begins. One of my favorite was started by Run With Jess and is called Run Your A$$ Off. It is held at Diet Bet and is basically a contest against yourself!
You "bet" $10 that you can lose 4% off your weight in 4 weeks. She will be having 3 rounds, so if you miss Round 1 you can always jump in next month. Diet Bet will provide you with a secret word, and when you weigh in, you provide a pic of you in your airport attire (bike shorts and a sports bra is what I wore) and then immediately following, you submit a pic of your weight on the scale with the secret word in the picture on an index card.
Cool, right?
All you need to do is win the bet against yourself and you get your share of the pot at the end. Win the bet, and you are guaranteed at least your $10 back. Another cool feature? You can decide to keep or donate the money to your favorite charity! LOVE it!
There are message boards for the "game" so you can connect with other bettors!

So, what are you waiting for?
Head on over to Run With Jess, and bet against yourself today!!
And come on back here at the end of the month, and see if I won the bet against myself!

What Winter Challenges have you joined this month?

Starting the New Year off with a Virtual Run

Like so many of my Blogger friends, I started the New Year off with a Virtual Run! After going to bed early so late (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!) I woke up to find it was a nice toasty 40* out! Woot! Doesn't get much better than that, except maybe for the hubs wanting to come with me for the first 2 miles. Hooray!

I got dressed in my warmest running clothes and grabbed my bibs for my 2 Virtual Races, that kinda go hand in hand which I *love*.

As part of my Run to the Finish Resolution Race, co-hosted by Mommy, Run Fast, who is also hosting the 5 by the 5th Virtual series, I ran 5 miles today. I chose 5 miles, but you could also choose a 5K, so long as you finish it every month, by the 5th of the month, from January to June.

What a great way to get me moving every month! I also got to put my Resolutions Goals for 2013 in writing, and into the Facebook Ether! Hooray! I can't wait to run my 13 Halfs in 2013, along with my 5 by the 5th Five Milers! 

It turned out to be a great run as well! We ran in the neighborhood, to keep it safe, and the Hubs did very well in keeping up, even though he said more than once that he wanted to quit. Once he hit the 2 mile mark he went home, to get the car so that he could buy the teenies and their friends some donuts. I ket at the last 3 miles, trying to make up a little of the time I lost when he was running with me. He can kick my butt in a one miler, but once we pass that, I am the Queen, lol. It was a nice run in the end, perfect for a taper run. Disney is in less than 2 weeks, holy heck!

After my run, we took the pups to Bay Head beach again. It still saddens me to see all of the damage from Sandy, but life must go on, and I can't keep pretending it didn't happen! The dogs love the beach, and Nugget LOVES the Ocean, although she didn't swim in it this time. We walked just over 1.5 miles,  just the right amount to wear the pups out for a few hours!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!!

What did you do today to set the stage for a great 2013?