Rowing Champ ~ Training Days 4 & 5

On the plan I am following currently yesterday was technically supposed to be a rest day for me.

However, after talking to some of my amazing healthy and fitness experts, I decided to do cross training instead.

I figure that once my miles pickup towards the end I will stick to the two rest days instead of just the one.

It's hard y'all.

I HATE TO REST.

I never thought I would say that.

I know they are extremely important, but once you are in a routine, it is hard to get out of it.

I am just basing everything right now solely off of how my body feels.

I FEEL GREAT!

Yesterday I did a 360 class and a rowing class at Planet Fitness.

I gave a whole new definition to swamp ass.

I am not sure I have sweat that much in a LONG time.

I also say this after every workout...

LOL!

This morning I ran the fastest mile I have to date with my Beast Mode Trainer Jess.

9:56 seconds.

WTF!

Y'all I am slower than a herd of turtles running through peanut butter...

For the mile I would say it wasn't too bad but when I do more miles that pace would not be feasible.
We then walked a lap around the gym, then did a 2 lap running warm up, a Dirty Dozen ab/arm workout, and then walked almost two miles afterwards.

**Me sitting in my car in my driveway refusing to get out**

I won't lie.

I am supposed to do 4 miles either tomorrow or Sunday.

My head is really messing with me right now.

I keep thinking about how hard it is for me to run still.

This is not easy.

Some days even one mile seems daunting.

And I am going to be running 13.1 miles?

I know I need to let it go but sometimes these things can tend to be easier said than done.

At this point my ultimate goal is to cross the finish line.

I am not focused on the logistics.

I don't care about a time.

I just simply want to finish.

And finish is what I intend to do...

PS I am joining an online Facebook Group Challenge that is running July 31st through September 11th (my 32nd birthday)!!!

It is macro based and I have seen results first hand and they are amazing!

If you are interested find me on Facebook and shoot me a message TODAY!

Here are my personal results from carb cycling which has been amazing as well.

From 2/1/17 ~ Present

Inches Lost~
RA - 2 1/2 inches 
LA - 2 inches 
Chest - 6 inches 😒😒😒
Waist - 11 inches 😳😳😳
Hips - 5 inches 
LL - 5 1/2 inches 
RL - 4 1/2 inches 

I just feel like I need something to switch things up and I feel like macros are going to be exactly what I need.

A new challenge.

I would love to have YOU along for the ride :)

I decided that I Thrive on a flat surace ~ Queen Bee Training Days 2 & 3

One thing you will find out quickly about me, if you don't know me already, is I am super transparent.

I am not all rainbows and sunshine over her 24/7, although I strive to be as positive as possible most of the time.

Running for me has NEVER came easy.

It's actually really fucking hard and more often than not I ask myself whyintheflyingfuck  "Why" am I doing this?

I am still not 100 percent sure I can answer that.

All I know is that this has been a goal of mine for five years and this year is all about facing my fears and crushing my goals.

And the feeling I get after a run compares to nothing else.

Yesterday was a cross-training day for me.

Honestly I find it hard not to want to run on days that I am technically not supposed to.

Yesterday was a 360 and rowing class at Planet Fitness, a 30 minute walk with some girlfriends, and then Barre class last night.

I was nervous about this morning.

Today was a 3 mile run.

I knew that I had to get up early and go because it is hot as balls in our neck of the woods, as I am sure it is everywhere else, too!

I didn't sleep well at all.

I kept waking up and checking the clock.

I don't know if it was nerves about running or not but every on the hour I found myself glaring over to check the time.

5:30 AM rolled around and I did NOT want to get up.

I had another alarm set for 6:00 AM and decided to roll with that.

It went off and I was literally doing EVERYTHING I could to talk myself out of going.

So many excuses.

A good 40 minutes passed and I FINALLY decided that none of those excuses were good enough.

By 7:35 AM I had put in three miles and was sitting in my car drenched in sweat.

Those three miles were MUCH easier than they were on Monday.

I won't lie though...

They were still hard.

Hills suck.

PERIOD.

I was questioning myself the entire run...

Still left wondering how in the hell I am ever going to complete 13.1 miles?

I just have to keep on keepin' on and putting one foot in front of the other.

Holy Hot Hills ~ Queen Bee Training Day 1

I decided that I needed a purpose to write or I simply couldn't write.

Life hasn't been all that exciting, minus the SPARTAN race I did last Saturday.

I decided at the beginning of the year that this was MY year to conquer my fears.

To do and try things I once never thought I could.

To start really living.

To live with purpose.

To be intentional.

To be happy.

To smile and truly mean it.

So I conquered the SPARTAN...

And now I feel that it is FINALLY time to conquer something I have been talking about doing for over five years.

My first Half Marathon.

So I figured that I might as well document this experience.

How rewarding it will be to see where I started, and finally where I end.

So here we are.

Day 1:

Of course today started out crazy.

My youngest isn't feeling the greatest, so instead of getting my early morning run in, I was taking care of her and running us to the doctor.

The key here is to not let things that don't go as planned deter us.

Today is a hot one.

It could have been a lot worse, but I wish it would have been better.

I may, or may not, have tried talking myself out of even running the entire way there.

Honestly my goal today was just to finish the 3 miles and allow myself some grace.

I will be completely honest that I probably wasn't as hydrated as I should have been.

Especially for a race smack dab in the middle of the day.

Whoops!

We live and we learn.

This will definitely be a learning experience for me.

I honestly didn't drink enough because I am infamous for having to pee during my runs.

TMI maybe?

Sorry!

Having kids will do that to you and I know my body and I have to be conscious of this.

The last mile was iffy but I ended up making it through without too many issues.

This is why I like to run early.

You also don't realize how hilly a surface is until you run on it.

My sister-n-law's neighborhood seemed pretty flat until today :)

Mile 1:  Stopped once up a hill.  Watch said I was going around a 12 minute pace.  Smiling.

Mile 2:  I am thirsty, my side hurts, why am I doing this again?

Mile 3:  You are almost done!  You've got this!  Don't quit now!

Being fast has never been my strong suit.  I honestly don't have a goal time in mind.  I really just want to finish.

Here is my Nike Running Stats for the first 3 miles of this crazy journey I am about to take you on:

Not too bad considering I was scorching and dehydrated.

I don't think my water bottle could have been anymore accurate for today's run.

Tomorrow is an option day which means I can either run or cross-train on the program I am following.  Honestly I may do a little of both for at least a half hour.

I am Thriving

Okay you guys...

So let me start out by saying I am not a sales person.

I know people that could literally sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman wearing white gloves.
Yes, that will most definitely NOT be me.

However, I wanted to come to you today with a product.
I just had to share.
It's already changed my life so much that I can barely believe it.

Some of you may have heard of it, some of you may have not?!

I have been Thriving for two weeks as of today.
I am down 10 pounds, inches, and I have more energy than I have ever had!

What is Thrive you ask?


This is my personal Thrive routine:

~4:20 am my first alarm goes off.  I take 1 to 2 capsules and a huge drink of water.
~4:30 am I am springing out of bed and hop in a hot shower to wake myself up.
~4:50 am I am out the door the gym for a mile walk warm-up and then to workout.
~6:20 am I am home, getting first kid on the bus, and typically doing a load of laundry and making my bed.  Cleaning up the house in general.
~8:00 am I am out the door with the last two kiddos getting them off to school and myself off to work.
~8:30 am to 4:30 pm I am Thriving through my day.
~4:30 pm to 10:00 pm I am picking up kids, running here and there, getting housework done.  Being a Wife and Mommy :)

SERIOUSLY!

Before Thriving my routine was so different.
I could barely get out of bed to go to the gym.
I would make excuse after excuse.
I would lay in bed until the very last second.
I would rush to get myself and my kids out the door yelling the entire time.
I would barely survive my work day and come home and want to lay around.
No energy for absolutely anything.
I was super moody.
I had fog brain 98 percent of the time.
I may have been taking better care of my body but I still was not 100 percent.

If the following describes you, you really should reach out to me ASAP!

MESSAGE ME TODAY!

thrivewithmarcy@yahoo.com

http://mburris911.le-vel.com/

Transformation Tuesday: The puke fairy came for a visit

"A dream doesn't
become reality
through magic;  it takes
sweat, determination and
hard word."

This morning was nothing short of a miracle.

A miracle that I made it through my workout without

1. passing out or 2. blowing chunks all over the mat.

I am STILL surprising myself daily.

I am STILL learning so much.

Who would have thought I, Marcella K. Burris, could start my day at 4AM?

Surely not me.

I was literally somebody that would lay in bed until the last possible minute.

I would scramble to get myself together.

I would yell at the kids because THEY weren't moving fast enough.
When I was really the one to blame...
I was so miserable and making life so much harder on myself,
and those that I loved the most around me.

Now this morning I had to laugh as I completed my second load of laundry.

This is all after I have gotten up, started my Thrive regimen, taken a hot shower to wake up, and made it to the gym for a killer workout.
This all happened before 7:30 AM.
Who am I?

It's amazing what takes place in the gym.
My gym.
A place that has literally saved my life.

Just when you think things start to get easy...

It creeps up on you.

The puke fairy almost paid me a visit this morning.

I was feeling a little discouraged when I left the gym.

But in all honesty...

It just means that I was PUSHING my body to that next level.

Why should it be easy?

If everything were easy everybody would be doing it.

What fun is that?

Your right.  It's not.

Unless I puke, faint, or die...
I will just keep on keepn' on...

Selfish.

"Putting

yourself first

is not selfish.

Thinking about

yourself

constantly is

selfish.  Please

respect the 

difference."

Why is it that when we start to take care of ourselves there is negative connotations that comes with that?

Are we not important to?

As a Wife and Mother I know there was a time, a very short time ago, that I had lost myself.

I had lost myself in the never ending loads of laundry.

I had lost myself in kissing boo boo's and running my kids from here to there.

I lost myself trying to make sure my Husband was happy.

I lost myself making sure everybody was happy before my own self.

How fair is that?

Your right.

It's not.

For so long I have been so fixated on others thoughts and feelings that I cheated myself.

How am I feeling?

Well nobody cares about that...

But wait.

They do.

Those that matter do care how you feel.

They realize that you are important to.

They are happy for you.

They celebrate your successes and they cheer you on.

They love seeing you happy.

They do not tear you down or make you feel bad for taking care of yourself.

Gone are the days that I will ever let another human being make me feel bad for who I am.

Gone are the days that I will ever change myself for anybody else.

Gone are the days that I will ever make anybody feel bad for taking care of themselves.

If we really love people.

If we care about them.

We realize it is not a selfish thing.

It's actually the least selfish thing you can do.

Please do yourself a favor.

Remove yourself from the back burner...

It's time for YOU to be in the FRONT!

"I used to

spend so much time reacting and

responding to everyone else that my

life had no direction.  Other people's

lives, proglems, and wants set the 

course for my life.  Once I realized it

was okay for me to think about and

identify what I wanted, remarkable

things began to take place in my life."

Selflessness...

"Practice being selfless.

You end up getting

more than you anticipate...

When your soul is giving."

It was the night of February 3rd and I can remember it like it had just happened.

I hadn't been feeling the greatest and laid down early.

It was a Friday night.

I was almost asleep and something literally jolted me into an upright position.

I was going to shave my head again.

This time I was going to do it, but do it with a great purpose.

A sweet woman in our community had just found out that she had breast cancer.

Her daughter deals with a severe case of epilepsy.

This family has been through the ringer and I felt compelled to help.

I wasn't just going to shave my head.

I was going to try and raise money in the process (all proceeds going directly to the family) and encourage others to do the same.

God was calling me to do this and I knew it.

I still know it.

Through me he is working greatly.

This year has been such a trying time for me personally.

I have already been through so much in 2017.

However, even with all the heartache, there has come so many blessings as well.

I have gotten a lot of flack for wanting to do this...

"You just want attention!"

"You are crazy!"

"How is you shaving your head going to help anything?!"

"You have lost your mind!"

These are just some of the comments that have been made.

However, that will NOT deter me from accomplishing what I set out to do.

I am learning to be more selfless and encouraging others to do the same.

Here is just a tiny snip about Melissa:

"I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer on January 5th 2017.  I will undergo 16 chemo treatments to kill the tumor and any cells. My mess is my message! I hope I am able to educate and inspire to anyone that hears my testimony."

Since finding out her diagnosis at the beginning of January Melissa has had 20 people contact her personally.  Many to tell her they got their first mammogram in her honor.  Two of these individuals ended up needing a biopsy and one was just confirmed as having breast cancer.  God is working through Melissa’s story and it has been extremely powerful.

So on March 19th along with my gym Coach and hopefully many others...

I will be shaving my head.

Again.

                                        

My personal goal is to raise $1000.00.

I am quite far from that but I know it's completely doable.

If you feel compelled to donate please reach out to me.

It would mean more to me than anyone could possibly imagine!

"Some Reasons You Shouldn't Miss Your Hair. A couple of the reasons are: You will save a small fortune on hair care products and haircuts, and you will save money on the water bill by taking shorter showers. But the biggest reason you shouldn't miss your hair is because your hair does not define you, your heart does; and you have a beautiful heart."