Yesterday 2,300 people in Kearney walked out on their jobs.

These employees walked 1.5 miles and ate a healthy lunch as part of Walk Out on Your Job, an event sponsored by Wellness Works.

I’m so excited that I got to be a part of the event this year. As the president of Wellness Works, a local non-profit organization that promotes workplace wellness, I got to help organize this huge event!

Although planning such a major event was a lot of work and quite stressful at times, it was all worth it when I saw all of those people out getting exercise during their lunch breaks.

According to the American Heart Association, walking for as few as 30 minutes a day provides heart health benefits.

For employers, promoting physical activity to employees can have huge cost saving benefits. Employers can save $16 for every $1 they spend on health and wellness, according to the American Heart Association.

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I survived another half-marathon!

On Sunday, I finished my sixth half-marathon. Crossing the finish line is always such an amazing feeling. Just five years ago, I couldn’t run one mile without stopping to walk. Finishing yet another half-marathon reminds me of how far I have come!

If you missed my live tweets pre- and post-race or my mom’s tweets during the Lincoln Half-Marathon, here is a recap of the race in photos.

The BF and I stopped at the Embassy Suites Saturday to pick up our race packets and race T-shirts. This is always when I start to feel a little nervous because I realize the race is actually happening!

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When I stepped out of bed this morning, I was instantly reminded of the 13.1 miles I ran yesterday.

My glutes, hamstrings and quads were feeling the pain of the run.

After tough workouts, I always try to recover with protein, lots of water and stretching, but there are certain foods and drinks that can help prevent muscle soreness.

I started drinking tart cherry juice awhile ago to help prevent muscle soreness.

According to Livestrong, tart cherries or tart cherry juice has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and helps prevent symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage.

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On Sunday, I will run my sixth half-marathon!! 

I’m so excited (and nervous) for the race. This will be the fifth time I run the Lincoln Half-Marathon, but I always have a lot of anxiety before the race.

The BF will be running his first full marathon! I’m so proud of him. Training has been challenging, but he has really pushed himself out of his comfort zone. I can’t wait to see him cross the finish line!

I don’t have a time goal this year. I’m running with the BF, supporting and encouraging him for the first half of his race.

I will be live Tweeting before and after the race, so get up early (the race starts at 7 a.m.) and see what I’m up to pre- and post-run.

You can also follow me during the Lincoln Half-Marathon to see how I’m doing!

You will be able to see what time I cross the following splits: 5K, 10K, 15K and the finish.

Click here and enter my bib number - 3099.

Or download the Lincoln Marathon mobile app.

Tweet or Instagram using hashtags: #2013LNKMarathon, #2013LNKHalfMarathon, #LTCMarathon, #LNK or #LTC.

For more information on the race, go to the Lincoln Marathon website.

Tweet me some encouragement @Hub_Sara or leave me a Facebook comment on Sweet Success.

Good luck to all the runners!

Yesterday I celebrated my 30th birthday!

I absolutely love my birthday. I start telling people my birthday is approaching a few weeks before the big day. I always plan my own party and try to make the day feel really special. Also, my birthday usually becomes a birthday week and I carry on the celebration as long as possible.

This year was no different. However, when I told people it was my 30th birthday that was approaching, the response wasn’t that positive. I got a lot of, “It’s all downhill from here” or “Now you’re officially old.”

To be honest, I feel like my life just keeps getting better and better. I can’t imagine life going downhill from here! I’m quite happy leaving my 20’s behind. During most of my 20’s I felt insecure, I hated my body, I wasn’t very self-aware and I was unsure about my future. At 30, I feel confident, strong and fit, I’m excited about where my career could take me and I’m much more aware of my feelings and emotions. 

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Happy Monday! 

I have been thinking about the food and fitness choices I make on the weekends compared to weekdays. I usually indulge a bit more on the weekends (see cupcakes below), but I always make sure to fit in exercise on the weekends.

The reason that I’m bringing this up is because we tend to relax our healthy eating habits on the weekends by enjoying cocktails (see margaritas below), eating out and eating treats. I’m totally OK with indulging a bit on the weekend, but I think it’s important to stay committed to your healthy lifestyle all the time.

To put it in perspective - if you eat whatever you want and skip workouts Friday evening through Sunday, that’s basically 10 days of the month (8 Saturdays and Sundays and 4 Friday evenings) that you are indulging and not being active. That’s 1/3 of the month! You will never reach your health and fitness goals if weekends aren’t as healthy as your weekdays.

I’ve decided to share my weekend with you - the good, the bad and the ugly…

Saturday, the BF and I had to do our last training run before the Lincoln Half-Marathon, which is this Sunday! We ran 10 miles together. I admit, it was a rough run. I started to struggle at about the third mile and wanted to quit at five miles. But I pushed through and felt stronger towards the end.

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This week has been a little crazy.

I got really sick Monday night and was up until 2:30 a.m. I had to teach a cycling class at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday morning and didn’t feel like I could cancel at the last minute. So I got two and a half hours of sleep!! I went in to work a little late and stayed home to get a few hours of sleep, but I was still feeling pretty terrible. I had a lot to do at work, so I sucked it up and went to the office.

The lack of sleep and not eating  very much because of my tummy trouble caused me to get a migraine Tuesday afternoon. So, overall, the day was pretty terrible.

Luckily, I was feeling much better by Wednesday!

I skipped my usual CrossFit class Wednesday morning because I felt like I needed the sleep after my terrible night of sleep the night before.

I started the day with some coffee and Goji Berry, Banana, Coconut Oatmeal! Super yummy! 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1 cup water, 1 tbsp. chia seeds, 1 tbsp. ground flax seeds, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tbsp. goji berries, 1 sliced banana, 1 tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut and 2 tsp. pure maple syrup. (I forgot to take a photo!)

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People often ask me what I eat. What I eat varies from day to day and week to week. But I always try to eat a variety of fresh produce, consume enough protein to help my muscles repair from my workouts and eat foods that will energize me. And, of course, have a special treat occasionally!

To give you an idea of what I typically eat, I will share a page out of my food and fitness diary once a week.

Check out what I ate on Friday! This is really what my meals and workouts look like on a typical weekday, although I did have a few treats toward the end of the day!

I started my day with CrossFit! Our WOD (Workout of the Day) was 5 rounds of 1 rope climb, 10 toes to bar, 20 lunges with a 45 lb. bar overhead and 30 jump rope double unders. 

I had to modify a bit. Rope climbing gives me flashbacks of elementary school (when I was an overweight child) and could barely pull myself off the ground. I always felt so embarrassed. Well, I’m no longer overweight, but I still can’t pull myself up a rope. Luckily, I never feel embarrassed in my CrossFit class and always just do what I can. My CrossFit coach, Bryce, draped towels over the pull up bar and I did little jumps pulling myself up with the towel. It, surprisingly, made my arms burn.

The whole workout was tough and intense. I always struggle with toes to bar and lunges with a bar overhead always get my heart rate going.

When I got home, I made a cup of Traditional Medicinals Ginger Tea. Ginger is really good for digestion and having a cup of hot water or hot tea in the morning helps get your digestive system going.

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I gave myself a wardrobe makeover!!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about having a hard time letting go of my clothes that don’t fit anymore. Most of my clothes were too big and I was feeling pretty frumpy everyday.

I think writing down my feelings helped me to realize why I was feeling emotional about getting rid of my clothing. 

Over the weekend, I spent a few hours trying on everything in my closet. If it didn’t fit and I didn’t love it, it went in the ‘get rid of it’ pile. Anything that I wore in college, regardless of fit, had to go. I’m turning 30 in a couple of weeks and decided I’m too old to wear anything I wore in college.

This is just some of the stuff that doesn’t fit!!

I have to say, it felt great to purge my closet. I realized that I don’t need to keep clothing to hold on to memories. I have the memories themselves. 

After my marathon try on session, I made a list of all the clothing items I needed.

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