Rev3 Triathlon- Recap

I just now realized that I never posted about my race on here... I've posted other places, but I want to share my journey with those of you who haven't read it here!

This is a super long entry/email, but please stick with me- If you don’t want to read the entire recap, just know that it was a great race with some road bumps.  Thank you to all who supported me financially and those who supported me through prayer.  Both were very much needed and very much cherished.  Now, if you want to read the whole “recap” see below…

Race weekend has come and gone.  Unbelievable!  On Saturday morning, Stacey, Allyson and I drove out to Knoxville.  Once we got out there, I headed to the expo and got checked in- picked up my packet, timing chip etc.  I then met up with Andy and the Knoxville team, and we went out for a short bike ride (to make sure that everything was working).  After that, we met up with Coach and then Andy and I jumped in the river for a practice swim (I guess to make sure our arms were working..) ha!  It was about 400m I think- waters were choppy, but it was a great temp.  After our practice swim, we had lunch with the Knoxville and Atlanta team and then headed to the hotel.  That night, we had an inspiration dinner.  This was an absolutely amazing time.  Anthony honored the coaches and mentors, he then recognized those of us who raised at least $1,000 over the minimum commitment (I was part of that group), and then he recognized the top 5 fundraisers for this season.  Surprisingly, I was one of those people!  I was SHOCKED when he called my name- I was the #5 fundraiser, and Andy was #2!!! So 2/5 top fundraisers were from Nashville!  GO US!  We also got to hear from a survivor who had first hand benefited from the funds of TNT.  I cried a lot that night. 

Then it was time for bed because I had an EARLY morning.

4AM- race morning

I woke up and went downstairs to get my oatmeal ready.  While down there I actually ran into one of the female pros who was competing also.  She was soo nice and super encouraging to me as well.  I then headed back up to my room to have my quiet time with the Lord and pray over my day.  I so cherished that time as it set the stage for the day.  I prayed for myself, Andy and Bridgette.  After spending time with the Lord, I started getting ready.  Already, at 5am, I was getting emotional as I put on the full Team In Training race jersey.  I could feel the weight of the day as I put on that jersey- even though I had been training all along, there was something different about putting on the jersey.  I got all “tatted” up and headed out to meet Andy and Coach.  We headed down to transition and I started setting up my area.  We took a lot of pictures, laughed, messed around some, but then the nerves started to hit.  I realized that I was getting closer and closer to jumping in the water and that meant I was getting closer to having this event being over.  Time to walk down to the swim start.  Coach, Andy, Cary and I walked down there- the entire time I was wishing I had my headphones with me so I could “get in my zone” but I didn’t, so I settled with singing worship in my head as we walked.  Just before we jumped in the water, I was able to pray with Bridgette, who was super nervous since this was her first tri, and that was a sweet moment. 

 

Swim-

I felt really strong going into the swim.  I had 2 goals for myself for the swim- 1. Swim the entire thing- don’t hold onto the kayaks and 2. Finish the swim in 30 min.  I successfully did #1- thanks to my training and my swim time was 32 minutes.  SUPER HAPPY with that.  About 400m away from the finish my calf started cramping but I was able to push though and finish up.  They pulled me onto the deck and I took off for transition.  I was able to see Coach, Allyson and Stacey, which was soo helpful!  T1 was slower than I would have liked, but that’s ok because I had to take my wetsuit off, put my knee brace on etc. 

Bike-

I went into the bike with a small cramp in my calf still, but overall feeling strong still.  This was supposed to be the strongest part of my event.  Once I got out of transition, I was able to find my pace and “relax” some.  I had 24 miles of open road ahead of me- tons of time to pray and enjoy it!  The first half of the ride went well.  I came up on the first hill, and had to get off my bike to walk.  This was unexpected because I didn’t have to walk it when we rode the course a month ago, so I was disappointed about that, but once I got to the top, I jumped back on my bike and enjoyed the downhill.  I recovered, played cat and mouse with a couple other cyclists and got to the turnaround.  Then I came up to the mountain- I knew I was going to walk this part (per coach’s orders) and I made it up in about 10 minutes.  I jumped back on my bike at the top and enjoyed the fun switchback downhill.  This downhill immediately went into another climb.  About half way up that climb, the unthinkable happened.  BOTH of my quads not only cramped up, but they seized up on me.  My muscles contracted so much, I couldn’t even pedal, so I jumped off my bike and tried to walk- couldn’t do that either!!!  The pain brought me to my knees.  I immediately started praying and massaging my legs.  I was so scared. This has never happened to me before and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.  This was the first time in my entire journey that I actually had the thought- “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to finish” and that, of course, was absolutely disheartening.  I cried a lot.  I asked a few people if they had salt, and no one did.  While on the ground, a shag car came by and asked if I needed medical attention.  I knew that if I said yes and received help then I would get a DNF (did not finish), which in my book wasn’t an option.  When he asked me if I needed help, I said no.  I made the determination that I was going to finish this race… after about 5 minutes, and after receiving some Gatorade and Gu from a fellow TEAMmate, I was able to get back on my bike and finish out the ride.  It wasn’t pretty, but I did it.  My goal for the bike portion was 1:20, and I ended up completing it in 1:50

Run-

I came out of T2 in pain.  My quads were still super tight, but manageable.  As I came out of T2, coach met me and ran with me.  We talked through the ride a little bit, and then my quads seized up on me again!  Practically took me to my knees again.  At this point we started asking EVERYONE if they had salt.  Finally, someone did and was generous enough to give me some. 

Coach telling me to "SLOW DOWN" (my pace was too fast)

 I ended up walking the entire first mile.  Once I reached the mile marker, my legs were feeling better, and so I decided to start jogging.  I determined that I would jog until my body wouldn’t let me anymore.  1 mile… 2 miles… 3 miles… 4 miles… WHAT?!  I was able to go 4 miles without stopping!  At about mile 4.5 my quads started hurting again, so I stopped and stretched and walked a bit, took a little more salt and then started running again.  This was soo unexpected because I had not trained for running at all (due to my torn meniscus).  I ended up only walking about 1.5 miles of the 6.2 – that was totally the Lord’s strength because I was hurting, and hurting bad!  Coach met me about ¼ mile away from the finish line and ran the rest of it with me.  As soon as I turned the corner and saw her standing there, I immediately started choking and tearing up-because I was hurting, but also because I realized I was actually going to finish this thing!!  This has been such an emotional journey for me, and I intentionally didn’t allow myself to cry at points but when I saw my coach, I was undone.  She asked me how I was doing, and I was honest when I told her I was hurting.  I had to walk a minute, but I realized how close I was that I had to dig deep and push a little more.   Allyson jumped in for a brief minute, but then met me at the finish.  We saw the last bend in the chute and coach said: “you know what you have to do right?”  “Yep coach- sprint”.  We reached the last bend and I took off… I had NOTHING LEFT, but I knew I had to finish strong:  I had to dig deep to find the strength but I did it. 

Once through the finish line, I collapsed in my coach’s arms and just cried. 

I DID IT!  It meant so much to me for coach to run that last portion with me and cross the finish with me.  We started this journey together back in November with a 2 mile run,  and since then, our relationship has deepened and we have invested so much into each other (and our team) that it was the PERFECT ending to my journey.  Along with coach being there, Andy was waiting for me at the finish line too.  Andy is an incredible man with an incredible heart.  He has been such an encouragement to me through the months of training, and it was great to hug him and for us to say “WE DID IT!” together!!! 

One thing I noticed on both the bike and run was that there is a certain respect that comes from putting on that purple Team in Training jersey.  As I was out on the course, every single time I saw someone in the TNT jersey, we both either shouted or barely got it out: “GO TEAM” (it depended on our physical state at the time).  And, even those who weren’t part of TEAM would shout out “Go TEAM” as we passed by.  Everybody knew that we weren’t out there for ourselves, but that we were out there for those who couldn’t be.  We were there for those who are currently fighting, those who have won their battles and those who have lost their battles with cancer.  I was so encouraged and again, I shed a tear every time!  (again, it was a very emotional day).  I was truly part of something bigger than myself. 

I went into this journey unsure if I could do it.  Scared to death about the fundraising.  I started this journey looking for a way to join a team and be part of something bigger than myself.  I started this journey looking for a new way to push myself to the limit.  I did.  I know that I made Caleb and his family proud.  I made my coach proud.  I made my family proud.  I made myself proud. 

I had expectations of what TEAM was going to be like, and while it wasn’t a large team, like Caleb’s in San Diego, my little team was PERFECT.  We started with 5, but 3 of us crossed the line, but I was most excited about Andy and I finishing.  We started this together, trained for 5 months together, and finished together- even with both of our laundry list of injuries… I made friends that I will cherish forever.  It was an absolutely amazing experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything!   I’m going to miss seeing Andy and coach every week (well twice a week), but I know that we have established a friendship that isn’t going away.  Andy is taking a little time off and then training for a half, so I know he will be riding, and I’m sure coach and I will go out and ride with him sometime. 

Through all the training, Christ met me when I was weak- He met me when I felt strong- He did the same thing during the event itself.  He made me a strong person, but my strength only goes so far.  HE IS STRONGER and HIS strength shone bright through my race.  Again, I would not trade this experience for anything. 

2 days later I had knee surgery.  My dr. was amazing and let me finish out what I had started.  I'm now in the process of rehab, and am planning on doing one more triathlon this season... in San Diego with my family present!  

I'm sidelined from running for 2 weeks... but I'm still training!

A couple of weeks ago, my knee started hurting.  I had surgery on it in Dec. 2011, and finished therapy in spring of '12.  My knee HAS NOT HURT since then (thanks be to God!)  I did both my tris last summer with no knee pain.  So, you can imagine that when my knee started hurting once I reached mile 4 in my training, I was NOT HAPPY, and honestly, a little scared.  I waited a couple of weeks before mentioning it to my coach, and spent that time stretching, foam rolling and doing some old PT exercises (that I could remember)... and after 2 weeks, I finally texted my coach.  This was part of the conversation we had:

                                                                       

(Even though we have only been working together for about a month, she knows what I need to hear, and how I need to hear it~ for that I am thankful.  After this conversation with Coach, I actually had this thought run through my head: "when a professional athlete gets injured- no matter how "big" or "small" he/she ALWAYS goes and gets it checked out...why? because if it is bad, they want to get it taken care of, and if it isn't bad, they don't want it to get bad..."  Now, don't get me wrong- i'm not saying I'm a professional athlete... TRUST ME, I'M NOT (and my bank account proves that)... but for me, it was a little switch, that combined with my coach's statement, flipped my stubbornness off and made me call...

So, I went to the Dr. today to get my knee checked out.  He said a couple of things that it "could be" but he really isn't too worried about those things at this point, and he mainly said: "I think your knee just isn't happy with you."  Basically it is inflamed, and every time I run, it flares up.  Therefore, he has sidelined me from running for the next 2 weeks.  On week 3, i can start running again, but building back up to where I was.  I'm ok with this because I still get to swim and bike.  He told me to "go to town" with those things so i can keep my cardio up! I'll go back to see him at the end of 3 weeks, and I'm believing and praying that my knee will be completely healed.  

I'm going to leave you with this clip from one of my favorite movies: Zoolander... As I was driving home this evening, this clip popped into my head and it is a perfect description of how I feelt right now regarding running... When I could run, I never wanted to (honestly, that did start to chaange recently), but now that I can't (for a short time) I want to!!!  Anyways, I thought it was funny... and those who know me, know that I consistently have movie reels playing in my head.... 

God is so faithful, and He care about the small details of our life!

(I'm just going to apologize for the long post, now... but please, read to the end... It's a good one, I promise.) ;)

                          

The past week and a half has been a breakthrough time for me.  2 days in particular... I had to leave my comfort zone (running inside on a treadmill) Let me explain:

Monday, Feb. 3 was not my best swim... I was off.. I'm not sure why, but my body was not doing what I wanted it to do.. breathing was off, stroke was off, I was sinking!  After texting my coach for some guidence and encouragement on Tuesday, I took to the pool again on Wednesday morning (breakthrough day one).  There was temptation to allow the poor swim of Monday to linger, but instead of doing that, I pressed into the Lord.  I prayed, asked the Lord to help me, and HE DID!  (no surprise there)  It was like something in my mind had shifted~ i felt like my stroke was right on, my breathing was WAY BETTER, I wasn't sinking (which is always good in a pool)... I left that pool feeling like I could conquer the WORLD!  Thursday, I rode my bike, and then Saturday we had another session with Todd!  This was probably the hardest session we have had, but it was soo good!  It was a great opportunity to make a choice... give into my mind and body thought were it's limitations, or I could push through... I chose to push through, and it was well worth it.  

Then came Saturday night... I'm not 100% sure why I texted Coach the question I did, becuse I already knew what she was going to answer (the text was about my comfort zone and how I needed to leave that, but part of her answer, I didn't expect.  She offered to meet me in Brentwood (about half way between our homes) and run with me on Sunday!  I immediately said 'YES!!!!' Then, I almost just as quickly started wondering why in the world I said yes?!  She was going to make me run... and run a lot.. So Sunday rolled around (breakthrough day 2), I went to church, lunch, errands, then headed up to meet with Coach.  As I was driving up, I had multiple conversations: 1 with a friend, 1 with my aunt and the most important one was with God.... I NEEDED THIS RUN TO GO WELL... As you all know, I've said for quite a while that 'running was my weakest event' or 'i'm no good at running'.  It was time to break that down!  I needed to change my mindset and the words that I spoke over myself!  The Lord had been showing me that over the week, and then my coach told me on our run: "You need to start saying that you CAN do this and stop saying the negative things."  So we ran... and ran... and ran... (ok, we actually walked some too, which was really helpful.  We ran for 4 minutes, walked 1 (and repeat))...  at the end of my run, I found out that we actually did 4 miles in 46 minutes and I ran at my fastest pace ever!!  WAHOO!!!  As I ran, I was talking with Coach, but I was also talking with the Lord.  The Bible says that "His strength is made perfect in our weakness."  This was shown during this run... Yes, I was doing the physical run, but emotionally, it was the power of the Holy Spirit that was getting me through... That was gently encouraging me to put one foot in front of the other and not give up.  After we got done running, my hips and the top of my foot started hurting.. We had another text conversation about this, and it was determined that I needed to get new shoes...

Oh great... I know I need new shoes, but I serious had NO IDEA HOW I WAS GOING TO PAY FOR THEM!!!!  I have ZERO EXTRA MONEY, and honestly, new shoes was not in the budget.... So, what do I do?  I pray, and pray hard!  This is where some people might think I'm crazy.. praying for shoes?  It seems so little, or vain, or ??  But I'm a firm believer that God cares not only about the BIG things in our lives, but He deeply cares about the small details of our lives too... So I prayed and trusted that the Lord would provide shoes for me somehow.

On Monday night, I posted this to our private "Tri-team" facebook page:   Stacee Strickland I'm no planning on completely following in your footsteps, but I too am taking tomorrow off of running... Yesterday's GREAT run has left me super sore, and I'm having some pretty intense tenderness on the top of my feet... Coach and I have determined that it is because my shoes are old and laces tied to tight... so, I'm going to give riding a try, but ice, ice, ICE!!! Looking forward to the pool Wednesday am!

Then i went to bed... I woke up to this private message from one of my teammates:    I read your post about you shoes. You have to have good shoes - especially while training. And this cannot wait. Come to Brentwood Fleet Feet at your earliest opportunity and I will buy you a pair. Seriously. If you keep running in those shoes, you will injure yourself and we can't have that. Let me know when you can meet me there.

Um.. seriously?  Did I read that right?  YES I DID!!!!  Oh my word! God totally just gave me shoes by the generosity of my teammate!  And let me just point out that our team has only really been together for about 6 weeks... So, I met up with my teammate today and we got myself new shoes!  I NEVER ONCE MENTIONED how I couldn't afford to get new shoes (prior to that message from my teammate)... GOD CARES ABOUT THE DETAILS IN OUR LIVES!  HOW COOL IS GOD?!??!?!?!?  He cares about the big issue of my finances, and then He also cares about the small detail of me needing new running shoes, and sends my teammate to buy them for me.  I had no idea how the Lord was going to come through on this one, but He absolutely did, and I am SOO greatful!  I now can't wait to get out and run with my new shoes.  They are lightweight, yet supportive, and they are an awesome bright yellow!  Here's a picture!  

    

It was soo worth me leaving my comfort zone this week, in at least 2 of the 3 sports.  It was scary, but it was way easier with the partnership of my coach and my team.  I absolutely LOVE training with TEAM, and my TEAM in particular.  I'll be honest in that it doesn't look exactly as I thought it was going to, but it is exactly what it needs to be! 

Running Vlog

It's no secret that running isn't my strong suit... I don't like it... but I want that to change!  I want to enjoy running and I want to do it well!  Here is a v-log (it's a little longer than the last one) but I did it while I was running... so sorry for the noise of the treadmill.  I know it's not super "interesting" but I am committed to bringing you guys along on the journey.. and this is part of my journey!

Music City Triathlon - June 28, 2013

I didn't expect a current.  I didn't expect to vomit.  I didn't expect a perfect weather day.  I didn't expect to make a new personal record.  I didn't expect to cry.

There were a lot of things I didn't expect to happen on this race.  I actually went into the race just hoping I would finish because I had not been able to train properly the weeks leading up to it (due to a quad injury).  I had set a goal for myself, which was a pretty lofty goad, but I quickly let that dream die after my lack of training. 

I arrived at the race site at 6AM.  As i started putting my transition station together, I kept praying and asking for the Lord's strength to come upon me because I wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish this feat.  

We lined up at the start of the swim… This was my first open water swim, so I didn't really know what to expect, but I didn't expect what I got.  the current was strong, and i had to swim against it for most of the swim.  basically I spent A LOT more energy on the swim than I was planning or anticipating.  

Because the swim was so hard, and took so much, I was already exhausted by the time I ran up to the transition area to get on my bike.  At this point, I threw up some, and while that's gross, I had a quick though of "finally, i worked out so hard, I threw up!"  And once i was finished, i got on my bike and off i went!  Cycling is my strongest sport, and so going into the tri, I wasn't worried about it.  However, once I got on my bike and my legs didn't want to move, I knew I was in trouble.  It took me a good 2 miles to get my head back in the game and refocus on what I had to do.  During those 2 miles, I actually had the thought "I'm never doing another tri… this is ridiculous".  Of course I didn't mean those words, but in the moment I did!  Thankfully as I prayed through this moment, the Lord reminded me of how much I enjoy it, and of course I will do another one!!!  How's Sept. 7, 2013 sound?  Good to me!  So the bike was a 12 mile out and back course.  They shut down many of the roads in Nashville just for us, and it was so nice to ride down Ellington Parkway because it is so smooth.  There were a few hills that weren't so fun, but it was a GREAT day for a ride.  

The run, like everything else, had unexpected results.  As i started out, I walked up the pedestrian bridge (because my legs were like jello coming off the bike)… Once I got to the top, there was a sweet man sitting among the spectators.  And what he said was another aspect of this run I didn't expect… he just simply said: "Hey 150, you're doing a great job, I'm proud of you.!"  I broke at that point.  tears started running down my face because it was as if the Lord was speaking through this man directly to me.  I needed to hear those words at that exact moment, and those words are what drove me to keep running.  My goal for the run portion of this race was to run more than I walked.  during my first tri, i walked the entire thing, so obviously I wanted to do better than that.  AND I DID!!!  I ended up walking about 3/4 of a mile total.  HUGE improvement for me.  

As I crossed the finish line, I heard cheers from my adoptive sisters who came up to watch me and cheer for me.  It was such a blessing to have them there, and it meant so much to me!  I don't do these races for anybody but myself and the Lord, but it is always nice to have someone there who is cheering specifically for YOU!!  

After the race, I went through the food line, and then over to the results area.  As I searched for my name, I finally found it.  I hesitantly looked at all my times.  I finished in 1:54:36… As soon as I saw that number, I cried again.  All day long, I felt like I hadn't performed very well, and that I would have a horrible time.  I had set up my expectation to believe that it would be impossible to attain the goals I had set in front of myself- which was to finish in under 2 hours.  I DID IT!!!  I could not believe it!  But that was just the "icing on the cake" of what the Lord had been speaking to me all day.  Way back at the beginning of the day, I prayed: " Lord, may you be glorified through this race today.  You have created my body to move and worship your through this sport, so may you be glorified today."  As I was out on the course, multiple times, when I was weak, I cried out to the Lord in my weakness, and His gentle response was this:  "my strength is made perfect in your weakness."  Honestly, there is no way I would have finished in the time that I did had I done it in my own strength… but it was apparent from the moment I jumped into the cumberland river that I wasn't going to be able to do the race in my own strength.  I must give all the glory to the Lord for this race.  today showed me how easy it is for me to slide into an attitude of pride when if comes to sports, thinking I'm better than I am, but I was humbled today.  Every stroke, stride and step I took today was an opportunity for me to grow closer to the Lord by stepping out of my own strength and depending on HIM.  As I released my expectations and hopes and desires to Him, He was then able to do exceedingly and abundantly more that I could have ever hoped or imagined.  I NEVER imagined that this would be the race where I shaved 24 minutes off my previous tri time.  NEVER!  But In christ, all thins are possible.  Phillipians 4:13 says that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  I have this verse taped to my bike, and it played through my head along with 2 Cor. 12:9- "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  The Word of the Lord is such a refreshing thing.  It is TRUTH.  

It was a great day overall.  I can't wait to see what the Lord does in the coming days in my life as a result of this.  I can't wait to share my story with anyone who is willing to hear because it is a story of overcoming through Christ.

Here are some photos:

Thanks for reading!

Annie's Journey, Part 3: Becoming A Beach Babe!

Hello my friends!

It's been a few months since my last full post and during that time I have gone through a huuuge transformation not only physically but mentally.

In recent posts (Part 1 & Part 2) I've shared a lot about how I have physically transformed myself into becoming a better me.  I've worked hard to lose weight and I've worked hard to gain endurance and mileage in my Half Marathon training.  BOTH of those are a huge part of who I am today, what I know about my "limits" and what can happen when I push them.  (I'll be doing a future post about my last Half Marathon and how I killed it!)

This 3rd section of my journey, which brings us to where I am today, actually started waaaaay back in November of 2012.  Like many of us, I was feeling the effects of too much holiday grub and being at Grandma's house! (treats everywhere!) I was feeling mushy and hadn't really been working out hard since the Half Marathon at the beginning of the month.  Granted, I was involved with a Christmas show, Beauty and the Beast, so I was active and working but not taking the time to build and train new muscle.

I had been following 2 girls on twitter for a while but hadn't really looked into what they did until one week right after Thanksgiving.  All of a sudden, Twitter "blew up" with tweets about a special Black Friday offer they had released.  Curiosity got the better of me and I checked it out.  It was an offer to join a team of women across the world and have life time access to a Nutrition plan that genuinely looked great! It was geared towards fueling your body to not only burn fat but also how to gain lean strong muscle.  With the deal came their own workout DVD, a water bottle (we all need more of those!), stickers, a hat, a journal, and a sample packet of a protein powder they had developed themselves.  These girls looked legit! But priced at $150, it was out of my range.  I sat on the offer for a couple days but as the deadline loomed near, I got anxious I was missing out on something incredible.  That night I went to the parents....

"Mom... Dad... there's these two girls who have this nutrition plan and they're having a special deal with extra goodies.... Can I have this be my one Christmas present?"

After showing them some videos and more information, I got my wish.  Santa came early!

I joined Karena & Katrina and the rest of the Tone it Up! family!!

I officially started the Nutrition plan on Jan 1st 2013 and there was a lot of trial and error on which recipes worked for me, exactly what things were, and when you were supposed to eat them.  Slowly but surely I started feeling better about what I was eating and my body was showing results through how it was feeling.  I had more energy and I felt better all around.

One of the things I really appreciate about the TIU program, is they are constantly bringing new things to the table.  It's just, buy the plan, here are some workouts, GO!  They have challenges throughout the year to keep you motivated.  The first challenge I was a part of was the Love Your Body Challenge gearing up towards Valentine's Day.  It was a great way to "up" my workouts and really start building muscle with a set workout schedule and help along the way.  I did have to sway away from it towards the end, as my next Half Marathon loomed closer and I needed to bring up my mileage.  But that race was a turning point in my own personal race goals because I had been doing so much strength training with the girls.

Fast forward to Spring of 2013.

Karena and Katrina announced the start of their 3rd annual Bikini Series Challenge! Who doesn't want to look amazing in a bikini??
I signed up the first day and was so excited for the next 8 weeks of workouts and challenges.  Lemme tell you..  it flew by fast!! It was tough, for sure.  There were a lot of days I could barely move my arms or pick up my legs to get me to work, but it was so worth it.  There were also days, I didn't make good choices on food and the last week of school was killer with all the parties happening in the classes and break rooms.  BUT I do know that I have made an incredible difference in my body since finding TIU.  I have muscles in my arms that have NEVER been visible before!  There are also times during a workout where I'll glance down at my legs and be utterly amazed at the muscle tone I've built up.  I've leaned my legs out with running but as far as muscle building, TIU has improved my strength by leaps and bounds.

I still have work to do as far as becoming confident in wearing a bikini but I know that I am literally a stronger person since signing up with these ladies.  The Bikini Series has officially come to an end today but I intend to continue the workouts and keep my goals in place.  I owe it to myself and to my body to treat it the best I can and I've gained confidence in knowing my good choices are affecting the rest of my life.   I'm incredibly thankful to Karena and Katrina for starting the Tone it Up program and bringing it to all of us.  Through it, I've met so many amazing women from around the world and am now lucky enough to call them friends.

If you want to know more about the Tone it Up program and the Nutrition plan check them out at Toneitup.com  They also have a community site where you can check in, blog your progress, share recipes, and meet new people. Both of these are FREE to sign up with! The $150 price I talked about was for lifetime access to the Nutrition plan which is updated and added to very often.  I think I have about 6 additional bundles plus the newest version of the entire plan.  It's worth every penny!

I hope that you guys all have an excellent rest of your week.  Get out and do something active! 

Your Beach Babe,