Half Marathon Training

It's almost as fun as the holiday season...

It's Half Marathon Training SEASON! 

Week 1 went SO WELL. I completed each workout required, runs required, and also taught 5 group fitness classes. I also killed my long run... 6.43 miles in 50 minutes in Central Park this past Saturday (which also happened to be my 25th Birthday-YAY!). 

Week 2...not so much. Monday was my rest day, so obviously that went well. Except for the fact that I became super sick that day...and have been ever since. That nasty stuffy nose, itchy ears and throat, headache, gross cough, and barely any voice thing...hit me like a brick. I stayed home from work on Monday and Tuesday. I tried teaching spin class on Tuesday night, and I did teach, BUT it made this whole situation worse. So I told myself to "chill out" and just relax. NO WORKOUTS. NO RUNS.

I have the opposite issue than most people. I have a hard time with NOT WORKING OUT. Mentally I'm just not 100% myself when I don't sweat, get my heart rate up, and physically challenge myself. My patience is also lacking when I don't get my daily sweat sesh in. SO this week has been challenging.

So now it's Thursday night. I'm slightly crabby but really just itching to exercise...and get back to training for my half marathon.

Tomorrow I am teaching a group fitness class in the morning...and I CANNOT WAIT. :) I know it's exactly what I need mentally, and finally, I think my body is ready for it. 

Saturday is my next run...it's supposed to be 7 miles. I think I will enjoy and appreciate running more than I ever have. This week made me realize how important exercise is to not only my physical health but also my mental health. 

It's my therapy, my way of taking me time, my stress reducer, my confidence booster, and ultimately what keeps me positive and feeling good.

Do Something Healthy for Yourself,

Caitlin *

If you focus on just winning, you'll never win.

You have to focus on what it will take to win and WHY you want to win.

Yes, I am talking about YOUR GOAL.

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I got the inspiration to write this post from my oh-so-inspiring friend Sam, who wrote in the online community that her goals are to: "run a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon, to lose 100# while doing it, and to be happy and healthy". NOW, this is what I am talking about. 

She could have just said "I want to lose 100#". BUT instead, she's got it all right. She wants to accomplish road races, to find true health and true happiness, which will lead to weight loss as she goes through her journey.  

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I always tell my "clients"..."if you focus on solely on losing weight, you never will (or maybe after doing Weight Watchers for the 18th time in your life you will, but it will find it's way back to your hips). Losing weight is a side effect of you getting to your goal. The goal cannot be just to lose weight". "Dig deeper", I would tell them.

There is always an underlying reason WHY you want to lose weight: to have more confidence, to feel good in your own body, to be more proud of who you are, to finish a road race, to wear a bikini and feel good at the beach, to be healthy, to live a long life that is disease-free, to be able to run around with your kids/grandkids, to feel like nothing is holding you back, etc etc. THAT'S YOUR REAL GOAL. Right there. The side effect is WEIGHT LOSS. 

Your main goal is actually the reason WHY you want to lose weight. 

You see?

We've had it all wrong for years! This whole time we've been solely focusing on weight loss, weight loss, weight loss. But in reality, we totally left out working on that WHY factor.

So many women who come to work with me have done everything in the book to lose weight, and at times, had been very successful at it. But the weight has always found its' way back, and in some cases, plus some.  But one part they never worked on before was the underlying reasons why they wanted to lose weight. Now that is some powerful stuff right there.

If you focus on doing things that bring you closer to feeling healthy, happy, more proud of who you are, confident, etc...then weight loss will most likely follow.

Although losing weight MAY make you feel happier,  healthier, more proud of who you are, and more confident, I will still argue that when you work from the inside out, when you dig deep and realize your WHY factor, the rewards of reaching your goal and losing the weight, ARE SO MUCH BETTER. 

You will most likely feel whole again, and the weight, well, it will never come back.

Do Something Healthy for Yourself, 

-Caitlin *

Start Sharing Your Journey with Us Today. http://www.caitlincroteaufitness.com

How to Reach Your Goal

Hi Everyone!

Today I want to talk a little bit about HOW TO REACH YOUR GOAL. 

If I were to give you one piece of advice on how to reach your goal, it would be to 

"Do things that bring you closer to your goal". 

Sounds simple right...like DUH CAITLIN! 

However, if you really stop to think about it, if you are doing things that lead you towards your goal, then you are always going to be ONE STEP CLOSER to reaching your goal. 

I'm sure we could all think of a few things that we do that bring us closer to our goal. I'm also sure that we can think of a couple things we do that bring us further from our goal.

I will give you a few personal examples.

MY GOAL: To increase lean body mass, decrease fat, and complete my 4th Half-Marathon in April sub 1:45. 

Things I do that bring me CLOSER to my GOAL

-I exercise on a daily basis-teach spin classes 3x a week, lift 4 days a week (okay, I take one day off a week, which is HEALTHY)

-I put healthy food into my body 90% of the time

-I make sure I get enough sleep.

Things I do that bring me FURTHER from my GOAL

-Sleeping in (sometimes) and getting my workouts in later in the day when I am less productive=less productive workouts=further away from my goal

-Drinking coffee multiple times a day= increase calories and drinking less water.

-I may indulge in something sweet more than I'd like.

-Going out with friends and having drinks more than I'd like. 

So there it is. To be honest, writing that all down made me realize that I definitely have some room for improvement, that I am not truly giving 100% to my goal. I just had an AHA moment, as Oprah would say. 

So now what? After you list things that you are doing that are bringing you close and that are bringing you further away, all you have to do is make a game plan. Keep going with the things you are doing that bring you CLOSER to your goal! You just gave yourself positive reinforcement.

BUT,What are you going to do about those things that bring you further away from your goal? 

Well, I have an idea. 

Turn them into something that will bring you CLOSER to your goal.

Remember the things I wrote that are bringing me further from my goal. Here's my game plan.

-I am going to find a way to motivate myself to wake up in the morning and to not sleep in. I may post a motivational message next to my bed next to my phone (alarm clock) so when I go to press snooze, I am reminded to GET UP. Also, I am going to make sure I am in bed sleeping by 10pm (which means I am getting into bed at 9:30pm) so I can wake up feeling refreshed. 

-To turn my coffee consumption habit into something positive, I am going to tell myself that if I want something hot to drink after breakfast (I am never giving up my morning coffee), I will drink tea! It's hot, I can still get a kind with caffeine, and I will be getting water from it! Also, I will drink water with my meals and then with my snacks. 

-To turn my something sweet craving into something that is positive, I will find food that is sweet but that is a fruit. I have already started this actually. I found FREEZE DRIED GRAPES that are AMAZING. They taste like candy, but it's fruit! Problem solved. 

-Last but not least, I am going to still go out with friends and but limit myself to 1-2 drinks per week. That way, I am not over consuming nor am I saying "no drinks". 

So there it is!

The process of figuring out some of the things you are doing that are negatively affecting your ability to achieve your goals and the SOLUTIONS.

TRY THIS FOR YOURSELF!

Do Something Healthy for Yourself,

-Caitlin *

Visit my website and click on COMMUNITY. Share your story!

 

A little Motivation, A workout, AND a Favorite Thing

Happy Friday Everyone!

I hope you are all having a healthy week and are doing things that make you FEEL GOOD :) 

Were you all able to check out the new website? Click here to go directly to the website.

Since I've been a little busy with the website this week, I have been lacking in the blog. I'm so sorry for that! 

Let's catch up on this week's videos:

Motivation Monday

Put Yourself Out There

Work it out Wednesday

Resistance Tubing Workout

Favorite Things Friday

Juicing! 

Feel free to "like' Caitlin Croteau Fitness on FB, subscribe to this blog, follow me on twitter (@caitcroteau), AND be active on the Community on the website! 

Do Something Healthy for Yourself,

-Caitlin *

And, here is that something good!

http://www.caitlincroteaufitness.com

This is the start of something good. This website is designed to help each and every one of us find what truly makes us feel good, because I believe that everyone deep down wants to be healthy.

This website is a place where we can learn, grow, and achieve our goals together. It's a place where we can share our goals, accomplishments, successes, challenges, and even our workouts with one another. My hope is that this community will foster an environment that is positive and in support of real change. A place where we can come together and support one another, because as we all know, change isn't always easy. 

Let's stop comparing ourselves to magazine covers and start doing things that make us feel proud of who we already are. Let's help one another feel empowered to make positive changes that will last a lifetime.

Caitlin Croteau Fitness has been a work in progress for over a year now. With the help of Nick Glimenakis and his amazing creativity and talent, this website and vision is able to come alive.

I invite you to check out the website and share it with anyone. I feel we can all benefit from one another's thoughts and experiences.

Positivity starts here.

Do Something Healthy For Yourself,

-Caitlin *

http://www.caitlincroteaufitness.com

Check out Nick Glimenakis Photography at:

http://www.glimenakisphoto.com

New Year's Eve 2011 :)

Happy New Year Everyone!

I know that this year is going to be the healthiest year for all of us...

and I am so excited to see what we accomplish in this new year. 

Last night, Michelle and I ran in the NYC Emerald Nuts 4 mile run at MIDNIGHT in Central Park.

I have to say it was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. The amount of people who came out to run was so inspiring and motivating and honestly, just plain cool. 

Here's some footage from the event!

TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY! 

Make sure to check in on my FB fan page, twitter, blog, and/or YouTube channel (Caitnutbar)! 

Do Something Healthy For Yourself,

-Caitlin *

Almond Milk! YAYYYY

This week's Favorite Thing is: ALMOND MILK

Watch the video to find out why I LOVE almond milk! 

Almond milk is also pretty allergy friendly: No soy or gluten in it! Also great for people who are lactose intolerant or just sensitive to lactose (like me!)

Do Something Healthy for Yourself,

-Caitlin *

3 DAYS UNTIL SOMETHING GOOD BEGINS!!!! STAY TUNED :)

Work it out Wednesday: It's time to stretch!

* Stretching  *

It's so important to incorporate stretching into your workout routine. 

Take 10 minutes today, and allow your body to stretch with this routine. 

So here it is, Your Stretching Routine :) 

Some *Benefits* of Stretching

• Reduced muscle tension
• Increased range of movement in the joints
• Enhanced muscular coordination
• Increased circulation of the blood to various parts of the body
• Increased energy levels (resulting from increased circulation)
• Balanced joints
• and IT JUST FEELS GOOD :) (hey, it's also important to do things that feel good too)

REMEMBER: 

4 days left until the start of something good...

stay tuned. 

Do Something Healthy For Yourself,

-Caitlin *

Monday Monday! Time for some Motivation! :)

Happy Monday Everyone! :)

Today I wanted to talk about one of my favorite sayings/quotes that is speaking to me (and I think will speak to you too).

Do Something Healthy for Yourself,

-Caitlin *

Favorite Things Friday: Greek Yogurt

Favorite Things Friday: Greek Yogurt~ *

YUM! GREEK YOGURT!!!!
(Pay no attention to the face I'm making...it really tastes good!)

There are so many different brands of Greek Yogurt and now pretty much all yogurt brands are creating their own version of the deliciousness. 

If you haven't tried it yet, give it a go! It's higher in protein (about 15 grams per cup depending on the brand), lower in sugar (the plain flavor has next to none), low in fat, and has Vitamin D and Calcium (we'll see ya osteporosis).

As always,

Do Something Healthy For Yourself,

Caitlin *