Fitness - Pocketful of Joules

A Small Fitness Update

About two weeks ago I had reached a breaking point. I was frustrated with myself, my body and my eating habits. However, instead of shoving those feelings down with a doughnut, I was mad enough to do something about it.

So, I posted this:

So I’m really not happy with my weight right now. And I just want to put that out there because I’m trying hard to commit to that whole regular exercise and eating healthy thing, but I’m really more of a curl up with a book on the couch with junk food kind of person. So I told myself that I’m going to exercise for two weeks and eat right. And I just need to see a little change to help kick me in the butt to keep working harder. So yeah. That. And this is my total ‘working out is HARD’ face. #joulesgetsfit #fitmom

A post shared by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Mar 6, 2017 at 2:40pm PST

If you feel like it, click through and read the comments. You guys are kind of awesome.

So, I decided to make some small sustainable changes to my life. I started eating a little better, but didn’t go total DIET on my life. For example, when I had a work event at Krispy Kreme I ordered one original doughnut and a coffee, instead of one original and one with cream filling. I also decided to try to do some type of work out every single day.

Here is today’s update:

Exactly 2 weeks ago I posted about how I needed to get off my butt and start working out and eating right. I said I was going to do it for 2 weeks and see how I felt. You guys gave me some awesome feedback and support and I really appreciate it! So, here is an update: I worked out 14 out of the last 15 days and ate a little healthier. I still had the occasional donut and ice cream. I lost 5.4 pounds. I haven’t woken up with acid reflux since I started and feel so much better in general. I’m going to keep it up for 2 more weeks and check back in. It’s hard, but it’s worth it. 😁 #fitmom #joulesgetsfit

A post shared by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Mar 20, 2017 at 7:35am PDT

I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’m on my way.

Reviewing the Fun Run Box: Another Loser

Last month when I received my first Fun Run Box I was pretty disappointed, but hopeful that this month would be better. Spoiler Alert: it wasn’t.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of this box, let me give you a teensy bit of background:

The Fun Run Box is a running challenge box that is shipped on a monthly basis. For a monthly fee of $35, subscribers will receive a fun box of running challenges and running products. After six months of challenges, you are considered a “finisher” and will receive a long sleeve finisher shirt and a medal. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or a seasoned veteran, you can use the month’s challenge cards to push yourself a little further each month.

I decided to treat myself to a box as a birthday gift and the Welcome Box was pretty underwhelming. You can read about it here: The Fun Run Box Welcome Training Kit

Let’s take a look at what I received in my November box. They don’t provide the retail cost for each item, so I did a little digging and found it on my own.

FuelBelt Reflective Stickers, $5.50
Reflective peel and stick stickers that you can stick on your shoes, socks, clothes or anything to make yourself more visible.

Balega Socks, $12
One pair of second skin fit ultralight socks.

Honey Stinger Energy Gel, $1
Pirate’s Booty ½ oz pack, $0.75
2 Jimmybar mini bars, $2

SPIBAND Wrist & Ankle Pocket, $10
Wear the pouch around your wrist or ankle to store small items. This pocket is basically only useful if you need a place to stash money or a credit card.

2 Lip Naturals lip balms, 0.10 oz., $1

Negative Split November Challenge Card

My Thoughts
My main problem with last month’s box is that I didn’t find it anywhere worth the monthly subscription cost of $35. This month, I feel the same way… but worse. I found basically everything for sale on Amazon and at their full retail prices the entire box added up to $32.25. Typically the beauty of a subscription box is that you are getting items at a HIGHER value, like the FabFitFun box where you pay $40 and get hundreds of dollars of cool stuff.

So, I gave it a try for two months and decided that the Fun Run box was such a total rip off that after I opened the November box I went online and cancelled my subscription.

Disclosure: This post is not sponsored by Fun Run Box, I paid for the $35 subscription fee with my own hard-earned money.

The Baltimore Running Festival 5k

I have quite a past with the Baltimore Running Festival. From impulsively signing up my first postpartum 5k (I Survived My 5k) to training all summer to run the Team Relay with my siblings (The Baltimore Team Relay: I did it!), it is one of those races that I try not to miss each year.

So this year when my sister’s hip injury meant that we couldn’t do our sibling Team Relay again (fingers crossed for next year), I decided to sign up for the 5k. I was in good company too because my brother and his girlfriend also ran the 5k and my other sister ran the half marathon.

To be honest, it wasn’t a great race for me this year. We ended up getting stuck in traffic, parking late and literally running to the start line. According to the website, there were 4,513 people running the 5k and holy guacamole did that make for a crowded course. In order to get to a comfortable pace, I had to dart around groups of walkers, slower runners and random Baltimore pothole obstacles. Considering I started after everyone else already crossed the start line, it’s actually pretty cool that I passed over 1,400 people. It was a fun run though and a great way to get in some exercise on a beautiful day.

The crab medals were pretty spectacular too:

And my whole family was there to cheer, so that was a bonus!

A photo posted by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Oct 15, 2016 at 9:58am PDT

A photo posted by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Oct 15, 2016 at 6:33am PDT

Hopefully next year we will be able to do the Team Relay again, but if not I’ll absolutely be doing the 5k. Of course, I’ll definitely do a better job at getting to the race on time!