Fill up to Spill out

 Welcome back!  It's been an exciting week as my oldest daughter turned 15 and got her driver's permit, my girls went back to school and their activities have started.... and my podcast officially launched out into the world on Friday!   It's been a dream of mine the last couple of years to start my own podcast as I have listened to an embarrassing amount of hours of podcasts on my runs, drives, and while doing my household chores.  I absolutely love podcasts as a way to learn, grow, get new ideas, and just be entertained as I do things that can sometimes feel monotonous.  And I hope my podcast will do the same for my listeners!  If you haven't checked it out yet, here's the link!   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fill-up-to-spill-out-podcast/id1760984013 Tomorrow kicks off official 1/2 marathon training for me as I start preparing for my 17th half marathon, one I have run several times, the Rock n Roll San Antonio 1/2.  I hope to beat m...

Happy August , the month that basically feels like January (except much hotter!) as we gear up for fresh starts and new routines.  Some people grab a new planner at the beginning of the year, and others like me associate a new year with August as the kids start a new school year.  So whether you're in the 1st camp or 2nd camp, either way, August feels like a great time to reevaluate, clean out, and refocus.  Summer has pretty much come to an end, and it's time to get back on track with routines that serve you and your family.   I don't know about you, but this summer felt like it FLEW by!  To recap, the girls had cheer camp, soccer camps, driver's Ed, and a week of overnight camp at Pine Cove, not to mention summer workouts, a few cheer practices, as well as soccer and cross country practices.  I attended my BODi summit in San Antonio, which was a highlight of my summer, getting away for the weekend with teammates and friends.  We also had our annual f...

 Happy July and the last 6 months of 2024!  Can you believe this year is already halfway over?  Crazy, huh?  Whether you're crushing your goals or feeling a little behind, know that there is still time to keep working and end the year STRONG!  6 months is plenty of time to commit to a fitness program and build muscle, change your body composition, lose weight, start building healthy habits when it comes to nutrition, train for a winter race, or start prioritizing those big dreams and goals you are still thinking about (they're there for a reason!).  I don't know about you... but I'm not giving up on my list of goals for the year!  Because I am worth the work... and so are YOU! Over a week ago, I attended our annual BODi Summit in San Antonio, Texas for the 2nd year in a row and was reminded of the importance of putting yourself in the room with others who have what you want.  People who are also goal-oriented, ambitious, health-focused, early-morn...

 Happy June, over a week late!  I just realized I never wrote a blog post in May, probably because May was CRAZY with end of the school year stuff and EXTRA CRAZY weather around here.  It was the wettest month EVER in Central Texas with over 15 inches of rain with several storms including hail and a tornado just a few miles from my house.  We are just a few weeks into summer and have been busy with storm clean-up, driver's ed classes for our oldest (eek!), camps, and workouts.  As our kids get older, summers just don't quite feel the same as sports never really stop and there are more and more things on our calendar.  We are looking forward to a couple of getaways coming up later this month and into July, which will hopefully be fun and relaxing, before getting ready for back to school in August.  I know this summer will fly by, but we are planning on making the most out of it. When it comes to my health and fitness, I am focusing on having a feel GOOD...

This week I have done a lot of thinking, reflecting, and doing a good self-check as we are already 4 months into 2024, and I want to make sure I am on track to achieve the goals I set for myself by the end of this year.  The main reason people don't succeed in their goals or new year's resolutions each year is because they simply quit after the first few months instead of doing a self-check in order to make some changes.   For example, if your goal this year was to get strong, fit, and healthy and you signed up for a gym membership that you are no longer using (or at least not consistently 3-5 days a week to see results), maybe you are someone that doesn't like working out at a gym.  Maybe it's not convenient, inspiring, or fun.  Maybe you would do better working out at home and pushing play on fun workouts that tell you exactly what to do, and you can do it at 5am before work, or when it works for you.   Or perhaps you are someone who is working out at home, bu...

  Happy April ... just a few days late, as I decided to start April with getting really sick.  I RARELY get sick, or at least not sick enough to miss a day or 2 of work, so when I do, it is always a good reminder for how much I APPRECIATE my body when it feels GOOD.  I am used to having energy and working out daily.   What a GIFT it is to be able to take care of my body!   In the last couple of weeks, I've been reminded, not only in my own sickness, but in other ways, WHY I do the things I do to stay healthy.  I want to AGE WELL!!  Last week, so many of my patients ages 40 on up kept telling me how horrible it was to get older.  When, I told them, "well, it beats the alternative... as in being 6 feet under," they laughed and said it might be better to be dead than alive.  Their aches and pains, fatigue, weight gain, and more made them wish their life was over, instead of just beginning another season.  How sad it that?!?!   As a fam...

 It's March and time to Spring into Summer!  New month, new season, NEW GOALS!  Since I am done with my marathon training cycle and don't have another big race until December, it is time to focus more on strength training and nutrition in order to gain muscle and get leaner and fitter.  Marathon training is really hard on the body, as in physically and mentally stressful.  So, it's always a good idea to switch gears for a while after coming off a marathon training cycle.  Spring and summer are the perfect time to focus more on strength training, nutrition, and weight loss (if desired), and I AM READY!   Next week, I will be doing the new 3 month BODi program called Dig Deeper with Shaun T.  It is already getting rave reviews from people in my community, and has the power to truly change your body composition if you put in the work.  These are longer workouts (close to an hour), so I will definitely have to start waking up at 4:30am again in o...

  Yesterday was a tough one.  I ran my 6th full marathon, and it ended up being my longest, hardest, hottest race to date.  What's funny is that I had hesitated to sign up for Cowtown as I worried about it being too cold as this is a week in Texas that has been known to be icy and snowy with freezing temperatures.  This year, it was the opposite.  We were issued a heat advisory the day before the race with temperatures predicted to be in the 80's at the finish line.  And the heat and hills definitely got to me and others racing the marathon and the ultra.  A lot of runners finished an hour past their predicted time.  I was one of them.   I won't take you through every mile, but instead I will focus on the highlights and some lessons learned.   Highlights... 1. Getting to meet up with a couple of friends in my running and BODi community that I mostly know online... Crystal who I met in person for the first time last summer, and Kary who I...

Next week is Valentine's Day, but instead of talking about the people in our lives that we love, let's talk about FALLING IN LOVE with RUNNING and FITNESS.  Did you know that the best way to LOVE yourself (and others!) is by taking care of your HEALTH?!  And when it comes to being the healthiest version of yourself, it's ALL about fueling your body with foods that BLESS your body, moving your body every single day in a way that makes you feel STRONG and ENERGIZED, finding an activity/sport that you LOVE, and working on your MINDSET.  Getting healthy starts in our MINDS.   We have to fall in love with the process of taking care of our bodies!  Because this is not a short-term goal, a way to lose weight and then stop doing it.  This is a lifestyle.  And we only get one life and one body, and even though some days or years feel long, life is actually pretty short.  And don't you want to FEEL good and have lots of fun and adventures in this ONE life...