Hello, Friends! I'm wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving, filled with lots of love, family, turkey, and--most of all--gratitude.

My timing can be questionable. For example, I launched a blog three months before my fourth baby was due. {Ahem.} However, in my thirty-something years on this planet, I've learned that, sometimes, it doesn't make sense to wait for the "right time." If I don't consider now to be the right time, I may wait so long that I never get around to accomplishing my goal. Is just before Thanksgiving the best time to propose getting in shape? Maybe, maybe not. But I'm going to go for it anyway!

I have my six-week postnatal check-up next week, and I'm hoping/expecting to get the green light from my doctor to start working out a bit more intensely. (I've already been walking on our treadmill for 30 minutes most evenings, but it's hard for a runner to walk, you know?) I'm going to start training for another 5K (3.1 miles), like I did after I had my third baby two years ago. Yes, training for a 5K did incinerate the pounds that have been trickier to get off each time (the old gray mare...) and get me back into my normal clothes, but it also helped me feel strong, powerful, and generally awesome.

{my 16-week plan}

• Use the 5K Runner Pro app to train for a 5K. This is the app I used last time, and I love it, because it really eases you into running. The app has workouts that span 8 weeks in which you are running 3 times a week. For each workout, there is a 5-minute warm-up and 5-minute cool down. During the workout itself, a trainer's voice prompts you when to walk and when to run. He also encourages you ("Great job!") and lets you know when you've reached the half-way mark. (Are you wondering why I'm using an 8-week program for a 16-week plan? I'm giving myself lots of grace here. The early weeks are easy, but they get more challenging as you progress through the program. The last time I trained, I was "stuck" on week 7 [or so] for several weeks before I was ready to move on to week 8. The app gives you the flexibility to repeat weeks if necessary, which I also love! So, basically, I'm giving myself 16 weeks to complete an 8-week program.)
• Do ab work every day. I've been doing 50 regular crunches, 50 bicycles, and 50 reverse crunches every morning. I'd also like to add in a 1-minute plank and increase my sets.
• Optional: If I can squeeze it in, I like to do workout videos during my "off" days. My favorites are Basic Yoga Workout for Dummies (stretching is super-important for runners) and Lindsay Brin's Postnatal Bootcamp. (The latter is great for strength-training, whether or not you've recently had a baby [or ever].)
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. I don't need to explain why, do I? (Side note: While Dan was proofing this post for me, he looked at me at this point and said, "Wait. Why would you have to drink that much water?" I heaved a sigh and started in on a long explanation. I was going for quite some time before I realized he was just messing with me. Stinker.)
• Read Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food by Lysa TerKeurst. There are 19 chapters in this book, so I'm going to read one chapter a week, for most of the weeks, and two chapters a week for 3 weeks in order to finish it in my time-frame. I'm hoping this will help me to...
• Limit the sweets to one small treat a day. (Oh, chocolate, how I love thee!)
• Register for and run in a 5K sometime in the spring.
• FYI: Although I do have an ideal weight in mind for myself, I'm not going to be focusing on pounds, and I won't be counting calories. (Who has the time/mental white-space to do that?)

{do you want to join me?}

I am going to follow this plan beginning Monday, November 28, and I am hoping to have completed my 5K Runner Pro program and Made to Crave by March 12, 2017. Hmm, just in time for the Shamrock Shuffle? (I'd like to continue the other healthy habits indefinitely.)

Because everything is more fun with friends, I will be setting up a private Facebook group for anyone who wants to join me. (It would be free, of course!) I'm not asking anyone to follow my plan to a "T" (or at all, really), but to have the desire to have a healthier lifestyle and make an attempt to move yo' body and eat well! In the group, we can hold each other accountable, encourage each other, share healthy recipes, playlists, etc. If you want to join the fun, comment on this post (either here or on Facebook) or send me a private message, and I will add you. If you're local, we might even be able to meet up for a workout (probably at the Y, now that winter is settling in) and register together for a 5K in the spring!

{my current playlist}

I had a great playlist for my last 5K, but I can't find it! Ugh. Here are some of the songs on my current playlist. As you can see, I like all kinds of music. Do you have any favorite workout songs? This is a work in progress!

Warm-Up

• Brand New Year (My Revolution) - SHeDAISY
• Get The Party Started (clean version) - Pink

Walk/Run

• Crazy Dreams - Carrie Underwood
• I'm Going Free (Jailbreak) - Vertical Church Band
• Shut Up and Dance - Walk the Moon
• Overcomer - Mandisa
• I Dare You - Shinedown
• Impossible - Building 429
• Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
• G-Force - Packers Music (This song is super-cheesy ["Tap into the G-Force / And use your outside voice!"], but it still gets me moving! I love my Green Bay Packers, even if they are having a disappointing season so far.)

Cool-Down

• Greater - MercyMe
• Thrive - Casting Crowns