#RIOTS Week Six and Seven

It's weeks six and seven for the #RIOTS.  I got a week behind as I had a lot of personal things going on these last two weeks.

I haven't really been running much except for a mile a day but that came to screeching halt last Thursday on Valentine's Day.  I woke up with minor back pain but after being up for an hour, I couldn't move.  I'm not sure why this happens and my doctor isn't either except for minor sciatica so I took some pain medicine, got the heating pad and went back to sleep.  After several hours, the pain went away and I felt better. 

I am using my Apple watch, Garmin watch along with the Nike Run app.  I have been getting badges and awards on the Nike Run app.  I love getting these as they help keep me motivated.  Do you use this app?  Do you like this feature on the app?

On Saturday, February 9th, I ran a local race, Knightdale Cupid Run.  It was a small 5K and I really enjoyed it.  I will be writing a race recap about this race.  I'm currently behind in writing race recap.  

On Valentine's Day (which was the day I woke up and had the back pain), after several hours of a heating pad and pain medicine, we went to Your pie for a Valentine's Day special.  The special was two pizzas, two beers from Aviator Brewing along with two glasses and a tour pass to the brewery.  

The next day, I headed to Savannah, Georgia for the Best Damn Race series and the Savannah Book Festival.  The book festival has become a girls weekend and I just happened to see that the race series was doing the inaugural Savannah race.  I couldn't have asked for a better weekend-running and books.  I had a fabulous race and then rushed back to the book festival.  I heard and met several authors and had an amazing time.  

Of course, no trip to Savannah would be complete without a trip to Leopold's ice cream.  I love that during the four days of the book festival, Leopold's renames their ice cream after the author and their books.  

 I will be writing more about more this race and trip in my race recap. 

My hydration is off along with my running.  So far, this month I have only run 29 miles.  I have let things get out of control and now I'm reeling them back in.  Scores for these last two weeks would be a B- or C+.  Till next time and remember my journey continues...If you can dream it, you can do it as Walt Disney said!

#RIOTS Week Five

It's week five for the #RIOTS.  I am feeling better and staying accountable due to this wonderful group of women.

I did manage almost 15 miles this past week.  I also ran the Krispy Kreme Challenge on Saturday.  This is a local race which is a fundraiser for the UNC Children's Hospital.  $190,000 was raised for due to this race.  I will be writing a race recap later this week.

I did better with my hydration this week.  I reached my goal except for one day.  115% weekly for my hydration!  I am really enjoying my pink Hidrate Spark water bottle.  I also love that you set up challenges with friends who have a Hidrate Spark.  

January was a good month for me.  I went 20 days out of 31 days completing all three of my rings on my Apple watch.  The rings are move, exercise and stand.  Approximately 75% is great for me considering my crazy work schedule at times.  Next month's goal is 100%!  I can do it!

I also ran 51 miles in January.  While that may not be a lot of many of my running friends, I'm proud of this mileage.  My goal in February is to try to run 100 miles.  

Score for this week along with the month of January is B+.  Till next time and remember my journey continues...If you can dream it, you can do it as Walt Disney said!

#RIOTS Week Four

It's week four for the #RIOTS.  This week was hard for me.  I worked back to back jobs Monday through Friday and then an eight hour shift on Saturday and another four hour shift on Sunday.  So, my exercising and hydration are off.

I did manage to get at least a mile a day in except for Sunday.  I started the C2K app this week and got in two runs with it.  It felt great to run with the assistance of this app.

My hydration suffered this week too.  It turned cold here and I don't like to drink cold water when I'm already cold.  I feel like that I failed this week in my small goals but I'm not giving up!

I received a wonderful email this week.  I was chosen as a Global Impi Ambassador for Balega for a the third year!  I wasn't chosen last year and really missed being a part of the team.  So, I'm glad that I'm back!

I participated in a 24 in 48 hour readathon this weekend.  I have done this readathon three other times and managed to get 24 hours in two out of the three.  I am happy with my results as I finished four books.

I have the Krispy Kreme Challenge on Saturday morning and hope to get some more training on the app in before then along with increasing my hydration. 

Score for the week is a C+.  Till next time and remember my journey continues...If you can dream it, you can do it as Walt Disney said!

#RIOTS Week Three

Woo Hoo!  We are on week three for #RIOTS and I feel fabulous.  I have 37.75 miles in this month.  That may not seem like a lot of miles but for me, it's keeping my consistency along with the most that I have run in a month in a while.

Hydration thanks to my pink hidrate spark is going good.  I haven't made my daily water intake a couple of days but staying strong.  It's hard to drink water when it's cold for me but I feel much better when I hit my daily water intake.

This week was a struggle.  I knew that it would be due to a couple of fifteen hour work days.  I did miss my running or some sort of exercise on those days.  However, this year, I am working on being kind to myself.  So, I let that negative voice in my voice remain small and relatively quiet and rewarded myself with the thought that I would be fine.

On Friday, I left for Charlotte to work and run in the Hot Chocolate 15k.  I am a field hydration specialist along with being an ambassador for Nuun.  So early out at 6 am and off to work at the expo.  I met Mike, one of the Field Marketing Specialist from corporate along with his wonderful wife, Stephanie.  I also got to try the new Nuun Sport which is available now online and rolling out everywhere by the end of March.  I got to see my friend, Kim (more about this on my HC15K race recap) along with several other friends. 

On Saturday, I ran the Hot Chocolate 15k.  I wasn't sure about this distance since I hadn't really run any distance in a while.  It was rainy and damp and I was still debating but knew that I could do it.  Kim and I finished the race and I was proud of myself for keeping up with her until the last third of a mile which was uphill and I felt exhausted.  But overall I was very happy with what I did.  Again, more on my race recap.

So, I'm thinking that I need to set a minor goal and see how it goes.  I started the Active C25K app this morning. I hope to improve my running in the next week. 


Score for the week is a B+. 

Share your progress in the comment or go ahead and link up with us!  See you next week on #RIOTS! 

2019 is a #RIOT(s)

It's January and I'm already behind.  However, I'm not quitting!  #RIOTS is an acronym for "Running is Our Therapy Sisters" or "Squad".  I reached out to five amazing strong bloggers (I have actually met four and hope to meet the fifth one this year).  I have been in awe of these women and decided to ask for help in 2019.  I proposed to these women that we have some ACCOUNTABILITY for all of our goals for the 2019 calendar year.  We've all got goals and have a support network will enable all of us to reach our goals.

Here's how it works.  Every Sunday (or whenever afterwards we manage to get the blog post ready), we share both victories and setbacks.  We are counting on each other to keep track this year and the results are going to be fabulous and epic!

If you want to play, head over to Jenn's blog, Run With Pugs.  Grab our graphic, drop your link in the linkup, comment on the host blogs and as many others as you can, and play along!

Next, Meet the Accountability Squad:

Brandi at Funner Runner

Briana at Mat.Miles.Medals

Meghan at Meghan on the Move

Jenn at Runs with Pugs

Elizabeth at Train With Bain

And me , Anna Louise at Gracious Warrior Princess

My goals for 2019 right now are to run with consistency and post on my social media the same.  Since I'm still searching for a full time permanent job, my work schedule is crazy.  I'm not making any goals due to that as I have to sometimes work long days.  Hopefully once I can obtain a permanent job, my goals will change.

What are your 2019 goals for the year?

What motivates you to stay on track? How can I/we cheer you on to reach your goals?