Viva Las Vegas

I'm attending the National HR Conference this week in Las Vegas. I've actually never been to Vegas and was certainly looking forward to my time away which I knew I'd largely be spending alone, which is partly what I was looking forward to.

I started out my journey to Vegas on a nice Saturday evening, my mom agreed to watch the twins so my husband could take me to the airport and not just drop me at the curb but actually walk in with me and wait with me for a few minutes. I only travel by plane a few times a year generally on United, Frontier, Southwest, a big airline everyones heard of. This trip was planned with Spirit. Let me just say, I'm not one to generally complain about much or have a bad opinion about anything, I'm definately an optimist most of the time.

This is the WORST airline I've ever traveled with!

Not sure how it happens that you travel from say Tampa to Las Vegas with a stop (not chaging planes) in Atlanta in your bag is lost for 24 hours. How does that happen? Clearly they removed my bag from the plane by mistake but seriously that's what you do, handle travel and luggage. This seems like something really simple, the bag with the "THRU" tag continues on that same plane. This wasn't even where my sour experience started, let me back up a bit. My husband and I arrive at the airport ticket counter to find a line of at least 50 people waiting, not to print their boarding passes, because a flight was canceled, nothing like that. Just to drop off their checked bags. Boarding passes already printed, luckage already paid for and tagged and yet the line was really, really long. We waited and waited, about 40 minutes in this line to drop off my 1 bag that I paid $42 online, crazy expensive for checked bag by the way. Once I got my bad dropped off and continued on my husband went on his way home and left me to visit TSA and board the plane or so I thought.

I continued on taking the monarail over to airside A, on my way an employee of the airport asked which airline I was flying. I guess I looked lost or flustered. I mentioned I was flyer Sprit and she contined asking if I flew with them before and how I liked them. I told her I had not and she mentioned that the airport and TSA gets a lot of complants about them and how they treat customers. Great, just great, I'm flying a horibile airline, we shall see how this goes...

If you've never been to the Tampa airport, TSA is super easy maybe one of the smoothest processes in the country. I was through there in no time, grabbed a bottle of water from the newsstand and proceeded to the gate. By this point I still had about an hour until my flight but there were hundreds of people in the area of gate A16 just hanging out. Looking at the monitors I noticed nearly every Spirit flight was delayed including mine. It's going to be a long night, I'd better grab a coffee. So I hit Starbucks, found some floor space since all the chairs were taken and called my husband to give him an update. Apparently bad weather in Altanta was delaying a lot of air travel into Florida and my flight ended up leave 2 hours later than originally scheduled. During the crew instructions the flightcrew were cracking jokes but not the usually light humor you may expect more of in relation to everyone flying on Sprit being "CHEAP" and that they nickle and dime their customers. One flight attendant even said something to the effect of if the life vests are needed please insert your credit card into the side of your seat to pay and release your life vest. This just seemed in bad taste to me.

Like I mentioned there was a brief stop in Atlanta before my flight continued on to Las Vegas. The brief stop should have been about 30 minutes which turned into 90. For what reason, who knows. The gate in Atlanta, like Tampa, was very crowded with people waiting everyone for this flight to Vegas as well as a few others that were running late. When I finally arrived in Vegas at 1:30 am (was scheduled to arrive at 10pm) I was exausted and just wanted to grab my bag and head to the hotel. Little did I know my bag was not in Vegas with me. It arrived on the 10pm flight the next day... bring on a bit of shopping just to get by. I travel a bit from time to time and this was by far my worse travel experience ever and I will think twice before booking with Spirit Airlines.

Shout out to my new gym membership!

For about the last two years I've been going to Boot Camp madness off and on and attending a class here or there. I found the classes to be very beneficial, lots of strength training, tons of cardio and overall a great workout but they didn't always fit into my schedule. I realized in paying by the class I started going about twice a week and they really did fit into my schedule so recently after two years of doing this and paying $10 a class I actually joined and became an official paying member.

I figured nothing would change I'm still attending about the same number of classes maybe an extra here or there so I get my moneys worth. Well last week, after not running much because it's been so hot out lately, I ran 4 miles on Friday evening following strength training class. To my surprise it is probably my fastest 4 miles ever! The 1st mile I ran 7:05 which is remarkable for me as a 10 minute miler. My average for the entire 4 miles was 9:15, part of which I walked since I wasn't completely sure where I was going.

I really attribute my much improved time to my added cross training.

You get in a groove and you don't realize how much you need to do other things, more than just one exercise. You can't just run, you can't just swim, you can't just lift weights and not do cardio need to have a well-balanced routine I think that's what I was lacking. Having a well-balanced routine and incorporating cardio, strength training, core and stretching makes you an overall better athlete. The pieces that are your strength, for me running become better as a result of the added exercises.  Like a puzzle it all fits together!

If your routine doesn't include a variety of exercises I highly recommend adding something new. You might be surprised and find a new passion. Good to mix things up.

Florida Halfathon Challenge vs. Disney Race

For the past 2 months or so I've been thinking, what of my "bucket list" races do I want to do? I didn't really want to travel far, not that any of my current list races are far away but also some are just so expensive. I thought about just going for it and registering for Wine and Dine at Disney, was on their site when it went on sale but just couldn't do it. It's SO EXPENSIVE! Also, my husband made a good point, I'd really have to prepare my body for that one since I'm usually in bed about 10 and the race doesn't start until 10. With my time I wouldn't be done running until after mid-night, I might as well forget about the post race festivities.

Yesterday the Disney World Marathon registration opened and I thought about it, thought about it, thought about it but I couldn't push the button, $175 is a lot for a race. I'd also been thinking about doing the Florida Halloween Halfathon. It usually falls the Saturday prior to Halloween which is the same day as the Frankenfooter (I run in this and this year I'm the race director). This year the Halloween Halfathon falls on Halloween and Frankenfooter is the weekend prior. Perfect I can do both. Looking further into it, why not do the Florida Halfathon Challenge, it's on my "bucket list" too. Cost a little more than a Disney race but it's 4 races... So I pushed the button this morning and now I'm registered for the Halloween Halfathon, Holiday Halfathon, Clearwater Distance Classic and Florida Beaches Halfathon. That's in addition to Sarasota Half Marathon next March and Best Damn Race Safety Harbor in February.

The next 12 months looks to be filled with fun running events. Wish me luck on my training :)

Resolution update

Gluten-free March went well and I found a couple of great products that I will continue to use. Including anything from WOW, they make gluten-free cookies brownies and assorted yummy things. My favorite has to be there Keylime white chocolate chip cookies, delicious! 

For the month of April I've committed to cleaning out one room of our house each week. Now I realize the first to have started working on are not actually rooms they're closets but we never get to our closets, we never get to clean them out. They were in desperate need and you have to start somewhere!

Below is two pictures of my twins closet before the cleanout and reorganization. 

Clearly it was a mess. After a bit of organizing and going through things this is the end result:

They still have far too many clothes but I was able to clean out the dresser a bit and move the sweaters and outerwear that we will not need for a while.

I also decided to tackle the hall closet. The before and after of the hall closet is not as obvious as the girl's closet but now I can at least find things.

Before:

After:

Wish me luck, I think I'll work on the garage next just not today.

Not a patient person!

Clearly I have no patience for waiting around. I'm on day 2 of car issues. I love my Honda Civic, I've had it for about 7 years it has 180,000 miles and we've never had a bit of trouble. Yesterday I got up, got the twins ready for preschool and myself ready to go to the office, day was all planned out and my car wouldn't start. Seriously, I have way too much to do for my day to start like this. My husband was on his way to a business meeting so i called my dad, explained what was going on and he was sure it was the battery. My dad comes to my rescue with a new battery and I canceled appointments for the day. 

He installed the new battery and still the car wouldn't start. So we took a break, dropped the twins at school 2 hours late and went to the auto part store. By this time it's also raining outside and getting chilly. Of course my car is not in the garage but in the driveway which just makes matters worse.

After consulting with the auto part store and mechanic friend, tried 2 batteries and checking out a YouTube video on replacing the starter we decided to have it towed. At the dealership they've also determined (what I've already told them) I need a new starter. So now I wait on day 2 for my car to be ready. I'm really glad I don't have car issues very often, I'm not good at waiting!

Completed a 1/2 and starting something new chapter!

For anyone who might be following along. I completed my first 1/2 Marathon last Sunday and had a great time. I know to many that sounds like 2 things that should not be in the same sentence, running and great time... Anyway, I did. It was the Inaugural Sarasota Music Half Marathon starting at The Van Wetzel Performing Art Center running over the bridge connecting St. Armand's Circle to downtown Sarasota, around the circle, back over the bridge past the kissing statue and Marina Jacks down Orange Street passing some lovely homes, through Marie Selby Botanical gardens and back to Van Wetzel Performing Art Center. The first 11 miles felt great and I walked very little (just right after water stops since I don't run and drink well). The final 2 miles however were a killer, I thought I'd never make it back to the performing art center. But I did in 2 hours, 32 minutes and 3 seconds. My goal was to be under 2 1/2 hours but I came really close to that. Running over a bridge slowed me down for sure. What kept me going was the great music and lots of spectators cheering. There must have been a band, singer, guitar player, ever 1/2 mile, felt like they were everywhere. I especially enjoyed the marching band at the top of the bridge, kinda says it's all downhill from here!

Following the 1/2 Marathon a wonderful brunch was provided by Mattison's Restaurant and drinks, beers, etc. were available.  It was delicious and such a gorgeous day to be outside, about 70 degrees and blue skies.

So what's next for me... well in the world of running I'm doing the Gasparilla 15K on February 21st and will be registering shortly for Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon and Space Coast 1/2 Marathon both in November. I like this running things to I'm going to keep it up!

In other news, I'm always trying to feed my family what I think is healthy. We avoided baby food from a jar when the girls were little and opted for fresh produce that I would puree, my husband usually takes his lunch versus purchasing junk from a convenient store or eating out of the vending machine or fast food which is not just bad for you but expensive overtime too. As part of my efforts we are giving Isagenics a try. The company is over a decade old with science and real results to back their products. If you are interested in learning more check out my website at kellybanchak.isagenix.com or give me a call 813-422-9442.

Thanks for reading!

Preparation

Next Sunday I'm running in my 1st Halfmarathon and honestly I never had a plan to run a 1/2. After I had my girls two years ago the plan was to just get back in shape, run a 5K, nothing more really, just have fun. Last year I won a registration for a 10 K thinking that would be fine I went for it, finished in just over an hour and really enjoyed it. It was the Susan G Komen for a Cure which is close to my heart. From there I thought if I can do this I can do 13 miles. So I looked for a fun half marathon to do. Sarasota is a favorite area of my husband and I, perfect Sarasota music half marathon, love music too. Today I ran 12 miles in preparation and felt really good especially the first four. I ran these with two new friends that I made in my running group and it was great, they kept me motivated, we chatted, got to know each other a little. At mile six I had to stop and take a potty break (I was in the park near the restrooms so no need to pee in the brush). I picked right back up and finished strong in just over two hours. My goal for my half marathon is to do it within two hours and 30 minutes I think I can definitely accomplish this goal. Wish me luck, it looks like we're gonna have great weather too. I will of course give an update and have some pictures to share after. Even some more bling!

Quinoa salad

Ok I know this looks really gross but boy is it delicious. Ava is devouring as I type.

Meal Prep for the Week

I've recently discovered something about myself that I secretly knew but never really addressed. I'm fantastic at working out, getting my cardio in, I find it relaxing and actually enjoy it however, I then go home and eat a pint of ice cream or 1/2 of a pizza for dinner. I'm horrible at dieting and as the primary meal preparer in my house I find myself scrambling every morning at like 6am to get ready for the day by fixing 4 lunches and 4 breakfasts and plenty of snacks for myself and my husband (we are both big snackers, nothing crazy like chips and candy bars but nuts, granola, fruit, etc.). In the evening I'm scrambling again to fix the girls a snack before I strap them into the stroller for our evening run and then come home to make dinner. Some friends have been doing meal prep to keep them on track with their weight loss and meet their goals. I'm going to give it a shot starting with the following plan. Keep in mind that my kids (even though they are only 2) eat what we eat and love fish (I know a lot of kids don't). If you are a parent you know this is abnormal :)

Monday
Breakfast - Strawberry Protein shake (the twins will have cereal too)
Snack - Ham and Egg cup (super yummy and easy)
Lunch - Baked Chicken with Asparagus
Snack - mixed nuts
Dinner - Quinoa salad with pesto and cauliflower

Tuesday 
Breakfast - Green shake (the twins will have cereal too)
Snack - Sliced Strawberries
Lunch - Salmon, hard boiled egg, mixed veggies
Snack - small "simple"salad (for me this is spring mix with light dressing)
Dinner - Turkey Tacos

Wednesday
Breakfast - Ham and Egg cup with sliced fruit
Snack - coffee shake
Lunch - Chicken with Spaghetti Squash
Snack - nuts
Dinner - Grilled Shrimp and Zucchini

Thursday
Breakfast - Strawberry Shake
Snack - Peanut butter on celery
Lunch - Turkey bacon with Asparagus and hard boiled egg
Snack - Quinoa
Dinner - Salmon with mixed veggies

Friday
Breakfast - Green Shake
Snack - sliced strawberries
Lunch - "Simple" salad with chicken and egg
Snack - nuts
Dinner - Mashed Cauliflower with grilled sirloin


I think preparing most of this on Sunday and having it ready to go for during the week is going to make my life much easier. I'll do my best to stick to this menu, it's so tempting to eat pizza or sandwiches work regularly orders for lunch. Wish me luck!


Update:

I gave this a try last week and it worked great the first few days. Preparing lunch was a breeze each morning. Dinner for me and the girls was easy too but by Thursday husband was no longer interested in eating what I prepared for him. I had actually made him salmon on a salad which he normally loves but decided he wanted chili instead.... Friday we went out to eat but I still had a sirloin and vegetables.

Transformation doesn't happen overnight!

Here is my progress. Top left picture was taken in March of 2012, top right November 2013. Below is now as of TODAY in awesome size 6 Miss Me jeans