Life has a crazy way of getting in the way of, well, life. Sometimes the only way to pull yourself back in is to refocus.

I knew going into this year, it was going to be a difficult one from a work perspective that would involve me being a bit busier than I’ve been for the last year or so. I underestimated it, and underestimated the toll it would take on me. Each day and week has felt like I’m being tested to my max in certain ways.

I was happier than I thought I would be to take just about a full month off from really running after Disney. It was nice to focus on cross-training, and even just relax, rather than feeling like I had to go run.

Unfortunately for me, this also resulted in a lot of stress eating. Which meant some pounds crept back on, leaving me feeling like running was going to be a chore when is started training for my spring races.

After overindulging for another week last week, I started thinking about how I was feeling. Not how I looked, but how my body felt after eating less than clean for several weeks. It felt terrible.

I’d been having tons of migraines, which I had only had a handful of times in my 33 years before then. My sleep, usually terrible, was even worse. And, most importantly, I didn’t feel like I had the oomph necessary to get through my day, and be my normal, happy self.

So on Sunday, I refocused. I set out a new plan for my diet (not the “I’m doing this to lose weight” kind, but the “what I put into my body” kind) which would include several weeks of no unnecessary carbs. Aiming to reduce added sugars, grains, and flours as much as possible.

I also used my amazing Runner’s World SmartCoach Plus to adjust my training calendar, because I had missed a few runs already, and realized that Saturday long runs cannot be my norm. My weeks at work are just too much to guarantee I’ll get up and get out before setting out to get errands and everything done at home. Yesterday, I officially kicked off training with 2 easy treadmill miles (although I ran them faster than I was supposed to), and felt really good. Ask me again tomorrow after my first tempo run of the training.


Finally, I went long on Unite Fitness. I purchased a 6 month pre-paid membership because it allows me to go as often as I want, and I’ll get charged if I don’t go after signing up. I also set up time with their Dietician, Juliet, to set up an eating assessment and plan so that I can get some professional advice on how I should be fueling my body.

This weekend I’m refocusing on my blog and social media presence (Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest), working to ensure I set time each day to do what I want to do, but also ensuring I dedicate weekend time to get ahead of the week with it. It’s something I love to do, and want to be able to keep it up, even with my crazy workload and training.

True Citrus Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered! I love these products and was excited to get to share them. The lucky winner is:


Congrats Abby! I’ll be in touch with details of how to get your box of citrus fun!

What’s your strategy when you find you’ve gotten off track?
Have you ever used a dietician before? What was your experience?
Have you tried any of my yummy True Citrus recipes?