Friday File: heart rate monitor and the workout

Happy Friday!  It’s been a long and adventurous week for me. Life has kept me busy the past two weeks and I’ve been trying to change some of my habits.  There a lot of change happening among the chaos in my life.

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This week I’ve been trying to get my Garmin Fenix watch of unproductive fitness mode into something that made me feel better.  Do you pay attention to your heart rate zones when you work out?  I have always paid attention to my heart rate but never in the area, I should be working.  I always assumed that if the heart was pumping it was a good thing.  No people, there are specific zones that you should be tackling your workouts in.  Going balls to the walls every workout isn’t productive, according to my fancy watch.

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I’ve been paying big attention to this because I got a Wahoo Tickr chest heart rate monitor that connects to my watch and my phone. There are two versions of this Wahoo Tickr.  I purchased the $49 version. I just needed the basic function of connecting to my watch and phone.  There is also an armband or heart rate monitor with memory for $79. This has really changed how I look at my workouts and my fitness goals for the future.

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I’m completely obsessed with the new salad at Panera. It’s the spinach and bacon poppyseed salad. I don’t get the cheese so it doesn’t look like much but the flavor is big. If you’re not a fan of spinach this isn’t the salad for you. This salad has the same dressing at the popular summer salad: the strawberry chicken poppyseed salad. Y’all know I’m a huge fan of this salad so it’s nice to have a spring favorite, too.

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Lastly, I’m glad to be representing Headsweats again. This is a brand I truly love and I wear hats all of the time. I love trucker hats and this company makes the best. Plus, I’m always running in a visor because it’s always so humid around here. It’s nice to have a company who believes in me just as much as I believe in them.

I’m sorry I must cut this short now because I need to wake up super early to run.  I know you’re shocked!  I hope everyone had a great week.

What things did you love this week?

Putting yourself first

Putting yourself first

Life is busy and things get really messed up in life, but it is OK to put yourself first. Have you ever made a list of the important things in your life? Where do you fall on that list? Most of the time your name doesn’t even show up on the list. I’m giving you permission to put yourself on the list. The misconception about putting yourself first is that selfishness. This is not being selfish, this is smart. Think about all the things you do in a day and how many of those things you do for other people.…

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Friday File: podcasting, running, essential oils and more

Friday File: podcasting, running, essential oils and more

Happy Friday!  I’m starting something “new” on the blog called the Friday File.  I’ll be honest, it’s just the Friday Five but without the five.  The pressure to produce a list of the five things sometimes made me not want to do a weekly roundup. I feel like I’ve been hitting my stride this week in life, which means next week everything is going to fall apart.  I’m ok with that though.  I did some great things this week. If you haven’t listened to the podcast, you definitely should.  Having this podcast will add more content to the site and…

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Race Recap: Louisiana Marathon 2019 Weekend – Half Marathon

Race Recap: Louisiana Marathon 2019 Weekend – Half Marathon

Louisiana Marathon weekend happened a couple of weeks ago, but I never got around to talking about the events of the weekend. The event happened January 18-20, 2019 in Baton Rouge. The event didn’t go exactly as planned, but the weekend turned out great. This is the race weekend I look forward to every year. The atmosphere is great! The expo isn’t my favorite part because it’s very small. There isn’t really much to see or do so it’s really just a place to pick up your bib and see friends. There were a few extra things this year but…

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I am making changes

I am making changes

I am making changes.  I’ve been hanging out without a plan for too long so now it’s time to change.  It’s ok to not have a plan, but I know I need a plan to get back on track. Before I get too far into this post, I want to tell you about the biggest change I’ve made.  Yesterday during the Super Bowl, I finally dropped my podcast.  Back in the day, I did podcasting before it cool and I talked about Gossip Girl.  This time around I’ll be talking self-improvement, weight loss, and some other things.  My co-host of…

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Closing out 2018

Closing out 2018

Hey all!  It’s the last post of 2018.  It’s been a year and I would like do a rundown of 2018.  This post is going to be extremely personal, so if it’s something you would like to skip, I understand.  I’ll just see you in 2019!  If you want to keep reading, that is always welcome. I ended the year with a strong workout.  Let me tell you, I didn’t want to get up to do this workout but it’s important to me to finish out the year strong.  This isn’t the time to slack off.  It’s time to start…

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Merry Late Christmas

Merry Late Christmas

Hello all!  I was super busy cooking a bunch of food for Christmas and getting things ready for Tiny Tot that I didn’t have enough time to post. It’s wicked hard to be a parent at Christmas. I never really understood the pressure, but I’m going to try to keep it real. Gift giving is hard for me because I never know when enough is enough.  She is a child and deserves to have gifts on Christmas but she doesn’t need an overabundance. I can’t control what other people buy her, but I can keep my spending in check. I…

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Preparing for Christmas

Preparing for Christmas

I missed blogging yesterday because I was just too tired. From Tiny Tot’s birthday and now planning for Christmas, I kind of screwed the pooch on the blogging thing. I did have a very productive day yesterday which has eased up on my Sunday a bit. Normally I would tell you about the meal prep I would be doing this week, but that’s isn’t going to happen today. I can’t fit any more food in my fridge. My fridge is packed to the brim with things for Christmas dinner and some essentials we need to last until then. It’s been…

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Should I make broccoli salad for Christmas?

Should I make broccoli salad for Christmas?

I don’t know why I’ve been thinking about broccoli salad all day, but I think I want to make one for a side dish for Christmas.  I haven’t really decided what we will be eating at this meal.  I’m just now starting to put the pieces together.  I’m sure Tiny Tot would prefer to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I didn’t know there were so many variations of a broccoli salad.  There are options with mayo and mayo substitutes.  I need to decide between grapes, blueberries, apples, and oranges.  There is a bacon and cheddar combination.  I didn’t think…

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Holiday indulgence gulit

Holiday indulgence gulit

Holiday indulgence guilt comes full force this time year, but I don’t want anyone to feel down about wanting to enjoy it.  The holidays bring cooler weather, gingerbread lattes, parties, alcoholic drinks, cakes, and pies.  I don’t want anyone feeling like they can’t have any of these things. My weakness has been the holiday flavors of coffee at Dunkin Donuts. Enjoy all the holiday goodness because it’s about living a lifestyle.  No one’s lifestyle should ONLY include chicken breast, broccoli, and basic rice.  I understand there are times for this type of daily living like during a training cycle or something…

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Blogging into the New Year update

Blogging into the New Year update

Good afternoon, everyone!  I’m keeping my blogging streak alive.  I barely got it done yesterday, but I’m still blogging strong today.  This whole thing has me really excited and it’s really stretching my thought process for the blog.  There have been some days it’s been hard to come up with something to blog about but I’ve come through in the pinch.  I will only blog every day until the new year.  This is just an exercise is helping me get into the routine of blogging.  I will go back to this when I need to do it. It’s been a…

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