ABB 5k 2015 + consistency is your BFF

 go time!  i do believe this is the longest start line i've ever been in.

it took about 9 minutes just to get to the very front and start running! all that body heat kept us warm though.

 i left my house late (unsurprisingly) and with the street closures and all ended up parking pretty far.  i pretty much ran a dang 5k through downtown before the race started!  i don't ever pay for parking downtown if i can avoid it; i'd rather walk and just save a few bucks.  i was tempted this time though cause i didn't want to be late, but i made it, whew.

#atomicphotobomb & #selfiewhilerunning. the reason for that face is because i was contemplating that 24 min PR i set the night before!!!!

so i didn't find the white rabbit to follow but i DID find a black gorrilla. or whatever that was. i had to speed up to get this pic cause he was BOOKIN' IT.

stats were posted tonight and my official time was 26:41!  i did set a PR of 24, but i'm thinking if i actually take the time to train correctly then maybe i'd actually hit it or come close smh! i love the challenge and i'm up for it.

done!  grateful to cross yet another finish line. i just can't get enough of that feeling.

so Sonny has been in Nigeria all week long for work and was supposed to touch down in Houston at 5am this morning. however, his flight was canceled and he had to hop on the next available one.  i sure would have loved to see him at the finish line, but i did find two of my gorgeous Sorors there, Ayesha and Crystal.  they are both doing the full marathon tomorrow; run hard ladies and good luck!!.

last shot before heading to catch the tail end of the boot camp class i teach with Brian every saturday.

adding to my medal and t-shirt collection!

after boot camp? a leg workout with my trainer, @showtimefitness of course!

 'what seems impossible today will one day become your warmup.' yes. i remember running my very first 5k a few years ago and not moving or lifting a finger afterwards for like 3 days straight! i was crazy tired & super sore and could have easily said 'screw running'and never did another race again. one of the hardest decisions we face in life is choosing whether to walk away or try harder. well, i chose the latter! how do you get better at something? DO IT MORE! no earthly idea how many 5 and 10ks (1 half mar) i've done since then but because i refused to quit, consistency had me up in the gym post-5k yesterday beasting through an intense full body workout with my trainer @showtimefitness. and you better believe there's a full marathon on my to-do list! just keep going. don't quit. consistency is key.

i actually love being trained as much as i love to instruct the trainings with my own clients!  Brian is awesome at what he does and i always learn more than a handful of things from him.

then... i headed to Luby's for dinner to celebrate. i can ALWAYS count on a great, tasty, healthy meal from there.  i don't care that the population is 80% senior-citizen per my husband!  i have so many childhood memories from Luby's. it was a sunday, after church staple for my family growing up.  anyway i got the salmon, steamed cabbage, seasoned carrots, pickled beets & cucumbers, and...... yes. THE BEST EVER. if you don't like mac n cheese we cannot be friends!!!!!!!! i earned it and i enjoyed every single bite.

WHAT big fitness goal have you set for yourself this year?

le

GREATday

i ate out the ENTIRE weekend.  i rarely do that, but i still made some pretty good choices and didn't go overboard.  after resting for a while saturday afternoon after the 10k (my little guy wouldn't let me sleep but we still did  some lounging and took it easy), we headed over to olive garden with my cousin and bro.  Sonny had some work to finish up.  alas, the life of a business man.

OG peach tea!  the frozen peach slices are a nice touch.

countless rounds of their caesar salad.

had to get my chicken and gnocchi fix...can't get enough of this soup. unlimited refills. only had 2 bowls there, but i ordered another round and took it to go.  this soup actually has the most cals out of them all, and the stats are still reasonable and low @ 250 per bowl.   i googled the copy cat recipe and i def. plan to make this at home!

 i'm SO feeling the mini desserts- fun to eat and look at.  and hello, portion controll!!! a lot of restaurants are doing them these days and i appreciate it as does my waistline.  we got a trio- two chocolate mousse and one lemon.

i really wanted a slice of lemon cream cake!! but this did the trick. 230 cals vs. 610 cals and 35 grams of fat.

limoncello mousse with a vanilla cookie crust.

such a perfect, satisfying size.

started sunday morning off with and early church service as usual.  i had my bowl of oatmeal before we left this time because i had to teach a weights class immediately afterwards.  i always eat a little something before hitting the gym and rarely go on an empty stomach...especially to lift weights.  i just can't get enough of taking or teaching classes- if your gym offers them, TRY THEM. the class environment provides camaraderie, support, accountability, and hopefully some music you like!  i tend to push myself more when taking a class which makes for a tougher workout.

after class i went to join Sonny in the cafe.  what was he doing? what else?!

he needed a few more minutes to finish, so i grabbed a snack and fed the little one before his hunger attitude kicked in.  yeah i know who he got that from.  there were 3 boiled eggs in there... i emptied out the yolks and added ketchup. it tasted better than it looked.  added a stick of string cheese for a small protein filled snack. i also had a hot tea. they had several natural sweeteners to choose from. that totally motivated me to do a future post on the best sweetener to use..there are just SO many these days.  i went with this one though:

 ok enough of that, on to explore city centre. again.

that lululemon is just too close for comfort.

 did some shopping, walking, and playing before lunch.

so serene.

INDEED!!

hey hubs!!!! *waving*

on to lunch- almost did Ruggles Green, but decided on Lubys, SMH.

mmmm...meat.  i normally go with their grilled tilapia, but im trying to break my habit of getting the same thing.

'what can i get for you? ' *blank stare*

i ended up with a green salad, grilled basil chicken breast, cabbage, yams, and only the best mac n cheese ever.  they were a little skimpy with my mac n cheese portion size this time! hmph. but it's all good...they definitely did me a favor.

good-bye february, helloooooooo march.  new month, new race! the Bayou City Classic 10K is in 12 days.  SIGN UP AND COME RUN!!!! (and then eat cause HEB sponsors this race too, hahaha)

 http://www.bayoucityclassic.org/

le