What do you stand for?

If you stand for nothing, you will fall for everything.

This couldn't be more true in all aspects of life. Being successful at whatever profession you are doing takes hard work and dedication. It takes knowing your WHY and having it so deeply rooted in your heart and soul that nothing can take you away from it. Not your excuses, not the hard times, not the criticisms. Nothing can rip you from your goals because you stand for something bigger. 

Today I ran the farthest I've ever run alone by far. For the longest time I believed I couldn't. I believed I needed someone to be there next to me pushing me, but today, I discovered that I don't NEED it. When it comes down to it, I need to be able to do it myself and today I did. 

The same goes for your business or career. Don't rely on someone else to push you, to motivate you. Yes, it's good to surround yourself with mentors and leaders. However, it all comes down to YOU and how deeply YOU want it. They can dont it for you. 

Don't be scared to try something new, don't let fear hold you back. Find your wings on the way down and FLY. 

Stand for something greater than those fears, and the excuses and everything else that stands in your way. Stand for yourself and have a believe so strong that nothing can shake it. 

Happy Monday!!

It's MONDAY again!!! Call me crazy but I'm pretty excited about today>> no I haven't lost my mind 😁!

I woke up today bursting with energy and it only grew when I checked in with my March 16th challenge group. Those ladies are crushing their goals and putting in some serious hard work but having fun while doing it. Our little group has become a community of supporting, caring women many of who have never even met face to face. That's the beauty of challenge groups ❤️!! I am so blessed to have the opportunity to work with them! 

Kicking off today is my new training program!! Double day- cardio and weights!! Plus its supposed to be another beautiful day here in Oklahoma which will be perfect for my run this evening! 

Breakfast this morning was eggs, oatmeal, and a banana!! It was great and totally filling!! 

Have an amazing Monday my friends ❤️

Plan and Prepare Equals Success

Happy Sunday!!! 

Today is my plan and prepare day for the upcoming week but we decided to add something new in too....

We decided to head to the zoo for a little family fun before the weekend ends. I packed up a bunch of snacks and water into our little cooler, loaded everyone in the car and off we went. To fend off all the zoo goodies I made myself and my hubby a shake! It was the perfect sweet, chocolatey goodness to keep my mind off the fried dough and ice cream while we were there!! 

We had a blast!! Our zoo has a few new babies, a gorilla and an elephant, so it was great to see them! My son, who is one by the way, insists that every animal is a "googie" aka dog! He points and yells GOOOGIE at every single animal we pass. It's hilarious and quite entertaining for the people around us as they all laugh. 

It was a perfect outing for our family on such a beautiful day!! 

OKAY-- now for the planning part! Earlier that day I made our meal plan and grocery list so while the kids were napping from a fun time at the zoo- we could hit up the grocery store ;)! No worries, the hubby stayed in the car while I ran in. Much better that way :)! 

Here is the Meal Plan I shopped for this week-

This week also starts a NEW training program Im starting!! Its a hybrid between Body Beast and running made my yours truly :) Im thrilled to start it!!! Ill be using Body Beast to build muscle while running three-four times per week for my cardio and 1/2 marathon training! So exciting and I get the best of both worlds! 

Here is my schedule-

Monday: Chest and Tris / 3.5 mile run

Tuesday: Legs

Wednesday: Back and Bis / 4 mile run

Thursday: Shoulders

Friday: Abs / 1.5 mile run

Saturday: 7+ mile run

Sunday: Rest

I am SO excited to start this and really start to push my body in different ways than before. Before photos have been taken and I'm ready to take you on this journey with me!! 

Xo

Jaclyn 

Beachbody Training!

Rise and SHINE

☀️8 miles @ 10:16 pace☀️

I love my Saturday morning runs/ catch up sessions with my girl, Amanda. It was around mile 3.5 when I finally noticed how far we had gone. That is amazing! 

I am seriously in awe of how much my body has changed in the past 6 months. I could barely run a 5K at the Turkey Trot. I felt like I was DYING as I crossed the finish line. Now I feel great come mile 3 and even though I'm tired at the end, in this case mile 8, I still don't have crazy aches and pains nor do I have that "holy cow I'm going to collapse and die right here" feeling. 

What has happened in the last 6-8 months? Beachbody happened. I would be stupid to think that they didn't play a HUGE roll in my health and fitness. At home workouts trained and are continuing to train me for my running goals. Just 25 or 30 minutes a day is ALL I spent each day. I ran twice a week only until just this past week. 

It's incredible that Beachbody's home workouts are that effective in just 30 minutes per day but, hey, my company is awesome so it's no surprise. 

💙

Are you looking to train for a race? Do you want to be able to take long walks with your husband or kids? Do you want to feel better? 

💙

If you answered yes- then I have the perfect answer. Email me at jaclyncrowellfitness@gmail.com so we can chat 💙

Saturday Run!

I always used to wonder what runners would eat before heading out for a long distance run. It seems silly but what you eat before plays a HUGE roll in how you feel during a run. 

Here is what I found works for me!

-2 scoops of E&E in 8oz water

-1/2 banana

- 1 piece of whole grain toast with 1T almond butter (Justine's in my favorite brand by far!)

I eat/drink this an HOUR before my run. This helps my body to start digesting it so I don't have that heavy feeling. The e&e is an energy and endurance formula that is all natural so it gives you a natural high that helps you push throughout your ️workout. It tastes like lemonade almost and has been a great addition to my pre workout snack! I don't over load on water which is why it's so important to drink at LEAST half your body weight in ounce of water the day before.  

Now to just wait.... At 7 I'll be starting my 6 mile run :) 

"The more I run the more I love my body. Not because it's perfect, far from it, but because with every mile it is proving to me that I am capable of more than I ever thought possible."

Saturday morning run DONE in record time-- under an hour for 6 miles! 

And I feel amazing ❤️

When I started running I can remember thinking there was so way I could run 3 miles let alone 6! I could barely run 3/4 of a mile back then. I can't believe how much my endurance and strength have picked up allowing me to go further than I ever thought possible. 

Bottom line is: don't give up just because you are a beginner. Don't compare your 1st chapter to someone else's 10th chapter. Put your blinders on and keep pushing for your goals. It is possible to reach them! 

Why do I workout?

There are so many reasons why I love to workout. It is a miracle I didn't start exercising earlier in my life. I never saw it as a priority or that I really needed it. Now I know I was wrong. 

Here are a few things it does for me...

Working out gives me freedom from all the stressors in my life.

Working out gives me time for myself, to grow stronger mentally and physically. 

Working out makes me happy. 

Those are my main reasonings why I love exercising. Doing the at home DVDs and running help clear my mind and gives me a sense of peace and pride in my body. 

I'm not doing this for anyone else or to be skinny or to show off or to put anyone down by my accomplishments. 

I'm doing this to be strong, happy and confident in myself. 

Every woman deserves that.

Sunday- Meal Planning!! Max 30!

This will be the start of my third week with Max 30 BUT I'm a week behind with my workouts (due to an illness and run days) so we are going to repeat week 2.

 (On Saturday I ran my longest distance to date!! So happy! 10K here I come)

Anyways I am prepared this week! I have created a plan this week to I stay on track with Max 30 PLUS continue training to run a half marathon in the spring. 

Here is my plan:

Monday: Cardio Challenge

Tuesday: Tabata Power

Wednesday: Sweat Intervals + 2 mile run

Thursday: Tabata Power

Friday: Friday Fight: Round 1

Saturday: Run 6.2 miles

Sunday: Rest and Stretch 

Along with creating a workout, I completed my meal plan for this week! It's simple and easy so it will be a piece of cake ;) to stay on track. 

As I was making this meal plan I remembered how hard it seemed in the beginning to make one. I had no idea about what to eat, how much to eat, or how to keep it budget friendly. Here are a few tips I have for beginner meal planners like me!

#1- keep it simple! Don't change up your snacks/breakfast everyday. Keep most snacks, lunch and breakfast pretty similar throughout the week. This will cut down on your grocery bill and make prep easy! 

#2- change up your dinners. If you are going to eat the same things for most of the day, make sure dinner is different. Generally I try to give us a wide variety for dinners. I get sick of eating the same foods pretty quickly so this helps cut that out. 

#3- look in your refrigerator and make a meal plan around those things. The last thing you want to do it have to buy all the ingredients for a dish! If you have chicken and broccoli, make a meal with that! Use up all of last weeks items so you avoid wasting it and it will save you money! 

#4- know your weekly schedule. Don't schedule to make a big dinner on the night your daughter has dance. A salad or a sandwich would be best! It will stop the excuses of why you can't stay on track and take the stress out of cooking because you will already have a plan. 

And lastly

#5- know how much you should be eating and WHAT you should be eating. You can check out my FREE clean eating guide to help you with what foods and how much. I'll be honest before Max 30 I really didn't stick to a meal plan nor did I create many. It was hard to figure out how much I needed of each thing. Once I got the Max 30 nutrition program it made it completely clear what I needed. There was no guess work and I could whip up a meal plan very easily. It has been my saving grace! 

I hope that will help you a little in creating your own meal plan! I'm telling you- it will make your life so much easy to have a plan!! 

Happy Sunday and I hope you all have an amazing week!!! 

(Starting reading Go Pro by Eric Worre today!! So far it's an awesome read!)

Saturday Run

Setting goals does work!!! 

When I set out on my run today my goal was to run 5 miles. That distance would be 1 mile beyond my longest distance and I felt it would be a good way to boost my endurance.

Starting out running I felt great for the first mile and a half then it got harder. The wind was beating on my face, dust flying in my eyes and I was losing energy fast. I thought of giving up so many times. Instead of stopping I slowed my pace and found a place in the distance where I would start running again. I had to do that quite a few times but there was no way I was going to head back home defeated.

As I hit the 5 mile marker a sense of pride and relief washed over me. I DID IT! I hit my goal even though it wasn't exactly as I had planned. I found a way to make it happen. 

A life lesson was learned today. The road to hitting your goals is never going to be easy but that's no reason to give up. Keep pushing, keep your faith and believe strong in yourself and you can accomplish anything you wish. 

One Mothers Support

First let me say that I never thought something like this would happen to me. I've read those beautiful stories of other people reaching out by saying a few kind words or paying for someone's dinner. The stories that make me cry and wonder how those people were feeling when someone did that for them.

Tonight I got to experience that. 

Today was a typical day. Brought my daughter to school, hung out with my other two kiddos, cleaned, did laundry-- the list never ends for a mom. My mother in law flew in today so the kids were super excited and really not paying much attention to the directions my husband and I had been giving them. 

Right after picking up my oldest from school I sneaked out of the house for awhile to go for a run. This is my "me" time. I have this new found love for running so I try and make it out at least twice a week. I did really well too! I ran 4 miles and at a faster overall pace. I was so excited!

Anyways, we all decided to go out to dinner for our 4 year anniversary, that happened yesterday. Of course it's a Friday night at 6:30pm so everywhere is PACKED! We landed at Long Horn Steak House and waited for a table. The kids were great as far as waiting. We were all starving and ready to eat. While waiting I noticed a family standing near us. Their little boy was about the age of my middle child and they had an infant. They were quiet and their children really well behaved. Our little buzzer starting going off and we were ushered to our table. 

Dinner was pretty uneventful in the beginning. The kids were being good and actually eating. Everything was coming out fast from the kitchen. Perfect. A smooth family date night, which never happens!

Then it started. My youngest was getting loud and cranky and the other two were just about passed out at the table. As our dinner arrived they informed me that they were out of sweet potatoes for the next 30 minutes so I needed to change my side. For whatever reason I was overly angry about it. Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous. I agree. But all of a sudden the noise my son was making and the fact that they didn't have what I ordered completely changed my mood. Nothing was good enough. My food wasn't that great and I didn't get my damn sweet potato which can arguably be the best thing on their menu. Dinner was coming to a close and my crappy mood persisted. 

My husband grabbed our son and headed to bring the car around. While gathering our belongings, the woman from the waiting area approached me. I hadn't even noticed but she was at the table right next to us the whole time. She was holding her baby girl when she leaned in and very quietly said...

"Hey! I just wanted to tell you how beautiful your family is. You are doing an amazing job. I know dinner time can great rough. I just wanted to let you know."

My face flushed, my heart started racing and I was speechless. I managed to squeeze out a a thank you but not much more. I was in shocked. My body was paralyzed by what had happened that I really couldn't react the way I should have. As I walked away I started tearing up. What this woman just said to me meant so much more than anyone could understand. A stranger noticed my struggle and decided to help. She lifted me up and made me feel better when I was being pretty a pretty lousy human being. I mean come on... Who gets mad over a sweet potato!? Apparently me. Not one of my finest moments.

I should have hugged her and told her that she is my saving grace. She single handily plucked me out of my bad mood and made me count my blessings. She gave me that positive attitude I had lost back at the sweet potato. 

As we drove home I told my husband what had happened and started tearing up again. I doubt he understands just how that woman helped but I will never forget her and what she did for me. This woman touched my heart. I am forever grateful.

This is what mothers should be doing for each other-- lifting each other up instead of silently judging. 

Friday Night Run

Its Friday night, the Hubby just got home from work, and I had an itch to go running. I was feeling great and didn't get in my T25 workout like I had originally planned. So I decided I would have enough time to get in a 3.2 mile run (I'm going to run at least 3.2 each time so my 5K time will get better) before it got dark. It was about 5:30 pm and super cloudy as it had rained all day. Still I went for it. I was TOTALLY wrong about it not getting dark. About half way I realized there was no way I'd make it home. The approaching darkness definitely helped me run harder I can tell you that!! Our neighborhood isn't well lit and its a little creepy running alone in a new neighborhood. 

On top of the dark I made a quick decision to go down another street. There were tons of Christmas lights that made the homes look beautiful so I took it. So here I was lost in my new neighborhood in the dark. I found a way to cut back to the main street by a drainage thing (lol I have no idea what you call those things!). I hopped on the phone with a friend so at least I could listen to her chat. Best idea ever! 

The plus side of wanting to get home as fast as I could was that I pushed harder than I ever have. Also by running down a wrong street I added some distance onto my run. Overall my splits were the best I've ever had for that distance of run so I'm happy I went but I probably won't ever cut it that close again :)

Once I got home I was relieved. My body was feeling great and still on the running high but I knew that I needed to stretch. I'm always so sore after a run and I wanted to make sure to give my muscles a good stretch. I got out my mat and started. Of course my babies joined in. I have to say its absolutely adorable when my son crawls under to give me a kiss. Aw makes my heart melt!

One stretch I discovered from PiYo is called the Pigeon. Its a stretch where your leg is bent ahead of you while the other is extended fully backwards. This stretches needs to be gotten into correctly so here is how I do it. I start off in a plank position, move to down dog and then bring one of my legs through my arms and sit down on my butt. This move can get a little difficult if you aren't flexible so take it slow and don't push yourself too much! I hold the pose for 30 seconds and go back into down dog. Repeat with the other leg. 

Next time you workout, go for a run or even just need a good stretch try this one out! Its awesome and totally stretches you out! 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for all that you are grateful for. I know in my family it is a time where we all gather, cook and just enjoy each others company. I love that sense of family and it was something I was definitely missing when we lived in Oklahoma alone. Having my mom close is priceless and I am forever grateful that her and her husband were able to join us yesterday. Not only did we have my mom and her husband over we got to spend our very first Thanksgiving in our new home. That's right... we bought a home on the 12th of November and it has been the most exciting and nerve racking experience. I LOVE that we now are home owners and in our home prior to the holiday season.

This Thanksgiving was FULL of firsts for my family and I. Another FIRST happened yesterday as well! I participated in the 5K Turkey Trot!!! 

So at 6:30 am I jumped out of bed and started getting ready. I was so excited and nervous all the same time. I couldn't believe that one of my goals, set back in June, would be accomplished! When I started running I couldn't even make it a full mile without stopping. I had to do intervals of running and walking along with sticking to the T25 program but soon built up my endurance and speed. My time per mile was over 11 minutes!! But I DIDN'T give up. Each time I went for a run I would push myself a little more. I will post HOW to made it from couch to 5K so you can see! It wasn't easy but totally do-able! 

The race started at 8 am so we all piled into the car and headed downtown. Once we got there I could feel the energy. There were so many people walking around, all ready to rock this race. There were people with kids and jogging strollers, dogs, teenagers and seniors ALL prepared to run the 5K. I was amazed to see the variety of people. As we all lined up and waited to hear the starting shot, I was filled with gratefulness and determination. Grateful that my heath and fitness has allowed me to do something like this and determined to do my absolute best. 

The race went a lot faster than I imagined it would!! For most of the race I was able to keep pace with my best friend, Amanda. She can run faster and longer than I can so it helped me keep a steady pace instead of sprinting in the beginning like I wanted to! My adrenaline was definitely to blame for that! Near the end I could feel my energy slipping and my pace slowing. That's went I decided to change my mindset. I KNEW I could do this. So I started running faster. I picked someone ahead of my and made it my goal to catch up and keep pace with them. It was a woman about my age and although she doesn't know it, she pushed me harder that last .50 miles than anything else. I didn't think of my legs feeling like jello or my side screaming because of a cramp. I just went for it. My time for that last little piece of the run was faster than I've ever run before. 

A sense of accomplished and pride went rushing through my body has I passed the finish line. I was so proud of myself for all the hard work I put in over the last few months and happy that my official time was UNDER 30 minutes. 

Here was my final stats:

-Official time 29.22 minutes 
-30th out of 90 runners in my age group (25-29)
-199 out of all 753 females
-537 out of 1411

I can't wait to participate in another 5K and continue to train so I can one day run in a 10K, hopefully this spring ;) !!

I hope you all had an AMAZING Thanksgiving!!