Christmas 2015

Hey guys! 

Sorry it's been such a long time since I last posted! 

Honestly, we updated my computer to Windows 10 and it screwed up my entire computer! Live writer is no longer compatible with Windows and I can't log into it! I'm so beyond frustrated with my computer I just gave up. I did do my last post through blogger.com but none of the pictures would post.. It's so long and complicated that it almost made me want to bag blogging completely! But I can still blog from my phone pretty easily... I hope, anyway! 

I hope you all had a fantastic thanksgiving, and Christmas and hope your gearing up for a new year!! 

Ours was busy and chaotic but we love being able to spend it with our families.

Here are a few pictures. 

Training last week was all over the place. I had two launches last week (new les mill releases) a lot of GPP and bootcamp classes and of course H⚡️GH class. I wrapped up the week with teaching15 total classes (I don't physically teach all of them.) and only 15 total running miles! It was crazy with Christmas but now it's a new week! I have a bit of a Christmas hangover but I totally put Christmas away on Friday and going to work today should help kick me back into routine quickly. 

Also, getting back to healthy meals after A LOT of indulgences helps me feel better as well! 

I have a lot of fun stuff coming up next year and I'm excited to share it with you all soon! 

Catch you later! 

Have a happy Monday! 

Happy Holidays!

Hey guys! I feel the need to check in today.

Maybe for the reason that I feel like I have neglected the blog for so long.. (HI.. the last whole year..)
Sometimes I stress myself out that I don’t blog enough and put to much pressure to do it and feel SO behind that I get anxiety! Add in all the holiday stressors and BAM. Nothing will get done ever. I just have to remember the blog will always be there (even if my followers probably wont be.. jk.. your’e all still there right?! 
I love blogging because it usually destresses me? If I am being completely honest it is having 3 little kids, working at 2 gyms, doing my own training, nutrition clients and of course the daily wife, mother, cleaning, life that I lead (and LOVE) the blog is usually the last thing on my mind anymore. Just know, that I do love blogging and I will try to put a better effort on posting more often!
This weekend was so fun and full of family parties AND Star Wars! Brent and I took this kid out on a little one on one time with mom and dad. With 3 kids it can get a little crazy so taking one out that gets 100% of our attention is beneficial to them. We all loved the movie and I highly recommend it.. Although.. Doesn’t it seem like the same movie from past ones.. ? It did have a little extra humor that I loved compared to the old Star War movies.
 
Saturday was my Dads family party. I have over 50 cousins and together we all have over 150 kids! Its always a little chaotic but we love it. This year my dad was in charge of the party and we decided on doing a breakfast. We had pancakes, casserole, fruit and even a few treats. We also played a few “minute to win it” games, a cute live nativity, and even Santa showed up!

Tanner and Baylee were Mary and Joseph. Can you spy them? The cutest!
This sweet lady is my Grandma Hale. She just turned 91!!! NINETY ONE! So amazing. I love her so much and so do the kids. Although, I’m not to sure how she feels about being called Grandma “white hair.” Ha!

Sunday was Brents Dads family party. We all enjoyed a ham dinner and opened up gifts and jammies from Grandma and Grandpa!

I also got started on our Christmas cards this weekend!… (so late..)

In other news..
I have a favorite new bar to share with you guys! G2G bars are all natural, and gluten free! They have ZERO artificial sweetners in them. They are now offering 25% OFF with the code “HUNGRY”!

I hope you guys are all having a wonderful Holiday season!

Tell me about your favorite tradition you do or have with your family?

Pumpkin Pie

If you have kids or any relationship with a small person, you know that they never forget a promise.

They will ask you over and over. Is it time yet? How about now? Is it tomorrow yet?

Bee is one of those.

As we were grocery shopping together the other day after our date, she found one of those graham cracker pie tins and she held onto that throughout the entire store! She kept asking me if we could make a pie.

So we took it home and then after she begged and begged for the pie crust.

Yea. she actually did just want to eat the crust! I have to admit, I would actually prefer to eat the crust too. It is the best part!

Brent talked her into making a pumpkin pie “tomorrow.”

Well, she woke up at 6 am on Sunday. Lucky, Brent.

She could hardly wait till we got home from church to eat it! hence the finger marks in it.

Little dipper!

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 (9 inch) graham pie crust

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 2 eggs

• 1 (15 ounce) can LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

• 1 100 calorie Vanilla Chobani yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in yogurt. Pour into pie shell.
3. Bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool for 2 hours. Serve or refrigerate.

You all should make this pie.

5 Tips to Avoid Weight Gain During the Holidays

The Holidays are well under way and with Thanksgiving coming up next week and if your family is just as dysfunctional as mine you probably have more than one Thanksgiving meal planned.

I love this time of year and I think it should be 100% enjoyed! Too many women make up “rules” for themselves during the holidays to keep them in check. I have to say I used to be the one to make up some strict, ridiculous expectations of my holiday meals/parties.

This year I refuse to have any rules. BUT I will be keeping in check! Here are my favorite tips to avoid weight gain through this time of year!

1. Don’t “SAVE” your calories. BALANCE THEM!

Calories are made up of macronutrients.

Proteins

Carbohydrates

Fats.

I recommend to you to find a balance of macronutrients that works for you! If you need help feel free to email me and I can help you out. Not everyone has the same macro count. It is completely individual! Apps such as My Fitness Pal or Lose it are great tools for keeping track throughout the day!

By keeping your macros in check daily, you may actually LOSE weight!

2. TRACK your SHIZ.

Part of balancing your Macros is keeping track of everything you eat. You cant eyeball it! You HAVE to measure it! Here is the scale that I have and love, to help with that. I know it sounds tedious and annoying but IT WORKS and is worth it! Especially through the holidays.

3. ENJOY your parties and your time with loved ones.

Family parties are NOT the time to keep track of your macros and quiz your grandmother on every ingredient in her apple crumble. 

In a week you eat up to 30+ times whether it be a meal or a snack throughout the day. Not tracking ONE or TWO meals will not derail your progress and I actually recommend having at least big meal 800+ calories.

There are several benefits to having that cheat meal. Weight loss being the main benefit! NO lie! HERE is a great article to catch up on and get a little educated on. So enjoy the time you have with family and friends. Its not worth the stress of eating “too much”. That is your time to RELAX, so do just that!

4. MACRO PREP!

 

Holidays are busy no doubt about that!! Finding time to meal prep can be hard and a tedious 2-3 hour job. But Macro Prep is a little different. You just cook a few things in BULK and BAM you have the main ingredients for your meals throughout the day!

My favorites:

• In a crockpot put 6 chicken breast on low over night. In the morning shred it and save it!
• Sunday afternoon bake 6  sweet potatoes/red potatoes/ steam rice and store it in the fridge.

Quick easy sources are minute rice, tuna fish, canned salmon, avocado and hummus packs from Costco, boiled eggs, fruit/veggies that are easy on the go. Protein bars are awesome to have on hand too!

5. Stay Consistent

Workouts at the gym may not be able to happen but you can always get a quick workout at home. Even if its 10-20 minutes make it intense and be consistent!

Here is one of my favorites from GPP fitness:

 

You got this!

xoxo

- Candice

3 Tips To Keep Your Kids Active and Have FUN Doing It!

 

Roen was a little past nap time here.. obviously. I promise he loved playing in the leaves!

Keeping my kids active is very important to me. I have discovered, if I give them time to move and play and discover different activities, my kids are happier and more cooperative with me through the day!

Here are some tips to keep those busy little bees active and happy!!

1. Get them OUTSIDE!!

My kids THRIVE outdoors. As a matter of fact we are probably outside more then we are inside these days! Whether we are at a park, taking Bridger for a walk around the block or searching for adventure in the mountains!

I know it is easier to maybe just stay home and watch a show but it almost always will equal onrey kids by the end of the night! I’m guilty of just staying home sometimes and relaxing but it almost always came down to when when I would ask them to get up and do something for me, all they do is whine and cry about it. Pick something up, coming to eat dinner, getting ready for bed etc.

So, get them out! Too a park, play in the snow, go to the beach, just play in the backyard.. anything outside the walls of your home. 

I also recommend playing with your kids, you can take them to the park and just sit and watch them on a bench or you can get up and PLAY with them! Tanner especially loves when I chase him around the playground and Bee loves when I swing with her. Bonus, you get a workout too!

2. JUST DANCE- Turn on some music and just DANCE! If the weather isn’t cooperating (I usually care more then the kids..haha!) I will turn on the music and just start shaking it! Even Roen is starting to dance with us and it’s the absolute cutest thing!

3. Extracurricular activities-

 

My kids are busy and I know it isn’t always in everyone’s price range because some activities are a little pricey. There are so many options out there, rec center, clubs, even free events. You just have to keep your eye open. Most High Schools have a basketball camp or dance performance fundraiser so you could call your local schools and get the skinny on all that. Tanner is in baseball in the spring and fall and also does gymnastics year around and Bee is in gymnastics and dance. It does cost us quite a bit, but it is important to us that our kids expand on the talents they are passionate about, so I really try to make our budget work for it.

Bee recently danced at half time of a high school foot ball team with her cousin!

With winter coming it will be a little more limited with time outside but try to get out on the days that are at least a little tolerable! I can’t wait to take my kids sledding!

Question of the Day!

How do you keep your kids active?

Holbrook Canyon Family Hike

Living in Bountiful, Utah gives us access to so many amazing hikes right in our back yard! This canyon has been one of my favorites since I was a kid! My Aunt Megan used to take me on this hike before they actually made it known to the public.

With autumn in full swing, Brent and I wanted to take full advantage of the weather and get out with the kids for a short hike to see all the leaves changing colors.

Holbrook Canyon is about 10 minutes from our front door so it is one of our go-to hikes with the kids.

 

This hike is a 8 mile out and back single track trail. There are a few spots that can be sketchy with young children so make sure to keep a hand on them through steep sections. You hike along a river and you cross it a few times with man made bridges. It does get very thick at about the 3-4 mile mark. We took the kids about a mile and half in and called it good for the day.

Sunday hikes with my family are one of my favorite things. We love to experience a new adventure and discover new things along the way.

Make it a goal to get outside more with your family, it strengthens our relationships and sometimes our patience with 3 kids and a dog.. We never regret it though.

Get outside!

St. George Marathon 2015 Re-cap

 

Wow! What an amazing weekend! I am excited to share all my thoughts with you about the marathon! It really was an experience of a lifetime!

We traveled to St. George on Friday afternoon and got to the expo about 6PM! It was a LONG day of traveling.. with me drinking as much water as possible we pretty much had to stop at every gas station on the way there.. seriously.. 6 times.. ha!! I was well hydrated that’s for sure!

The expo was awesome, I was able to get my packet quickly with no wait and walk around and enjoy the vendors there. I stopped by the clif booth and snagged a 3:45 pace band. I chatted to them about the course and instantly felt more confident about the race.

I headed back to my MIL condo and I started to make some dinner.. plain chicken and plain russet potato! I always eat the same pre race meal. It works for me so I don’t mess with it. My potatoes took a bit longer too cook so I ended up finishing my dinner about 9 pm!

While my food was cooking it gave me a chance to set out all my gear and make sure I had everything ready for the morning. I filled one of my bottles with 2 EFS liquid vanilla shots and the other with my BCAA, threw my warm clothes in my drop bag along with two stinger waffles and a water bottle and a small gatorade bottle, pinned my bib to my top and put my socks in my shoes and made sure my garmin was charging!

I headed to bed by 9:45 while my family hung out and watched a movie! I prayed for a good nights rest, and thanked my heavenly father for my health and for strength to make it through another 26.2. I woke up probably 4 times to go to the bathroom and even had a nightmare that I had woken up with the sun shining through the blinds and jumped up (in my dream) knowing I had missed the start! I told myself it was just a bad dream and pinched myself and I woke up and it was 2:30am.. so glad that was all in my head and not real life!

My alarm went off at 3:45AM I got up, put on some mascara and sunscreen and made myself a peanut butter and honey sandwich to eat on my way to the bus. My friend Lindsey picked me up at 4:30am to take me to the buses. We chatted about the race and I was about to cry again because she was meant to be there and I instantly wished it was me that was injured so she could be the one to experience this instead. She had trained so well and ended up with a stress fracture and made the smart decision to skip this race. She gave me a hug and I got out the car.. ran back to the car and gave her one more hug.. I needed it..

The bus line was LONG.. They had a different loading procedure from last year and I overheard people saying that it was better last year. I found a few of my friends and they waited in line with me. It took about an hour for us to get on a bus.

Once we got of the bus, they had photographers take pictures as we made our way to the starting line. It was amazing to see the cyclist all lined up and all of the elites ready to take off.

We got in line in for the bathroom and made it just in time to hurry and throw our drop bags in the Uhaul and head to the starting line! As we made our way to the line, I realized I forgot to turn on my GARMIN! uh.. duh. So I stood by the starting line waiting for my garmin to “locate satellites.” It was ready pretty quick and we had crossed the starting line about 5 minutes after the gun! The weather was in the low 50’s so just PERFECT.. but realized it would be a hot finish!

I had a great start! I caught up and passed the 3:45 pacer. I was feeling strong without really pushing the pace to much. I knew veyo was ahead of me and wanted to get a head start on that hill because I know I’m no mountain goat and I would struggle up that hill. My pace was great and by the time we reached the bottom of veyo there were so many people cheering along the sides. I had a strong start up the hill but knew I had about 6 miles of climbing to tackle so slowed myself down to save my legs for the downhill that was sure to relieve my legs a bit! I struggled up that hill… about half way my friend lindsey was there. She had climbed to the middle of the hill because she knew that I would need her right about there and she was SPOT on!! I was already hurting going up that hill! My lungs, my hips and my calves were on FIRE! She yelled for me and I ran over to her and she gave me a big hug. I almost cried tears of joy to see her because I thought I had missed her at the bottom with the crowds down at the bottom. She gave me the fire I needed to keep truckin up that hill.

By the time I reached the top of Dammeron hill which is about the half way point at 1:58 I was 3 minutes behind my pace. Time to kick it up a bit. I literally could not move my legs fast. I pumped my arms faster and my legs followed.. about 2 miles into the downhill, I was feeling good. I reached the “overpass hill” @mile 19.. the 3:45 pacer came and went. I had her in my eyesight but lost her somewhere through a aid station! I mentally gave up a little bit there. I was not going to reach my goal. (LOFTY goal) I know.. but I still wanted to try and push. It was only getting warmer and I was feeling more and more tired. My legs were getting heavy and wouldn’t turn over. I was just putting one foot in front of the other at mile 24 I ran into a blogger friend Rachelle who is an amazing sub 3 marathoner and was pacing this race with one of her friends. She chatted with me for a bit and said we were on track for a sub 4! I made it a new goal to get that sub 4. My previous marathon was a 4:10 and I knew I would get a sense of accomplishment if I could at least get that. She gave some words of encouragement and pointed out that it is a beautiful day and I told her thank you and started to push a little harder. As we headed into the city of St. George people lined the streets. I grabbed every popscicle that was offered by spectators, ran through every sprinkler and poured as much water on my self going through aid stations as possible.

I was still feeling good and knew if I could push the last mile I would get that 3:55. I buckled down and went for it. I looked down at my watch at 25.92 and could not yet see the finish line? I knew I was almost there but where was it?! Then about 10 steps later I saw it! FINALLY! I saw the clock that said 3:58 and I pushed past the few people in front of me, “sprinting” (you know like a sprint is 8:30 mile at this point in a marathon.. haha!) to the finish!

I crossed the line and hit my garmin 3:55! I did it!

My husband called my name and my kids came running toward the gate! I saw one of my friends from high school at the gate too and she chatted with me and could tell I was struggling to just stand at this point. I let go of the gate and made my way into the finishers corral. I snagged a water, chocolate milk and clenched the diet coke my husband handed me at the finish! Judge me all you want.. a Ice cold mcdonalds diet coke is my go to post race.. ha! Great recovery I know.. I feel good about it.

My kids were happy I swear.. haha! The sun was in their eyes.. I sat down for awhile and chatted with lindsey while our kids all played at the park.

She was so nice to listen to me talk about how sore I was already feeling and talk about the course. I know she is going to KILL her marathon once she gets better!

This course is overall a GREAT course. I however would not say it is the “fastest course” It has some tough hills. SO if you are planning on running St. George make sure you include hill training! I didn’t do as much as I should of and I realized that about 12 times throughout the marathon! Ha!

This is a well supported race. I never had to wait for a cup, or help at any point. All the volunteers were so helpful and kind. They cheered everyone on and seemed so encouraging despite having gatorade and water being splashed all over them the whole time!

This race is fun because it is such a large race. Every mile was pretty entertaining when everyones garmings beeped at the same time! I have a deep respect for the full marathon distance. It is no joke.

I love the half distance but also love the 26.2 because it makes you dig so much deeper and at the finish you finally realize that you CAN do HARD things.

Thank you all so much for every comment and encouragement on Instagram @hungrymotherrunners I am so grateful for you all and lucky to have such amazing followers/friends!

3 days!

I’m getting excited for race day around here! I’m being super cautious because with my luck Ill trip and sprain an ankle or turn weird and hurt my knee before the race.. **knock on wood.

I am however hydrating like a boss.

Today has been crazy and I knew it yesterday so I made sure to have leftovers from yesterday ready for dinner!

I have been working out each day:

Monday: GPP workout

Tuesday: About half of boot camp which included my 6x400m runs that were on my plan.

Wednesday: I did half of the GPP workout

Tomorrow I plan on 3 easy miles after I get done coaching and then it is off to St. George for a little R&R before go time!

Taper is hard for me! I’m sure everyone has there struggles with a taper. Mine is more mental than anything. I start to doubt my training and if I’m truly ready to tackle another marathon.

For half marathons I don’t get as nervous but full marathons are just a whole new ball game and if I let my anxiety get to me too much I know I will be dealing with stomach issues the day of the race. So now until the race I’m going to stay positive and trust myself and my training and just KNOW everything is going to be great! The St. George Marathon is going to be a blast! I have so many friends running it and Brent and my kids will be there to cheer me on at the finish and I know I will have a great race!

Someone else isn’t too happy about the taper..

I haven’t introduced our new pup too the blog yet. -> Meet Bridger! We recently adopted him and he has been the best running partner! Bridger is a 2 year old standard poodle and he has been so great! My kids are in love and I have someone who is always willing to run at 5am.

Monday I even snuck in a little hike with this little mister. The leaves are starting to change and the mountains are a beautiful place to be right now! Post marathon you know Ill be hitting the trails again! OH how I miss trail running! FOR FUN!

Hope you are all having a great week!

Catch ya on the flip side!

**edited to add.. yes.. I wrote this like 5 days ago and yes, I realize the “publish” failed and I didn’t even notice till now.. MONDAY..

oh geez. sorry! Race review is under way!

Baby & Booster

Hey guys! Candice here! I have a quick update for you today! I hope you are keeping up with us on insta @hungrymotherrunners

Ashley had her baby boy about 3 weeks ago! She went overdue by a week! We are all smitten by him! His name is Finnick and is a dream baby!

My marathon training is coming to an end! I am excited to tackle the St. George Marathon and feeling ready. (As ready as I’m ever going to be.) More on my “taper tantrum” later.

I completed my last long run today! 10.5 and done!

Yes, my hair is out.of.control. I realize the madness. Ha!

WORKOUT

I have a workout for you today!

This would be perfect for all my weekend warriors out there!

You will need a Bar, a pair of Dumb bells, mat and a Box! (maybe a treadmill. There is a run.)

 

This workout will get you super sweaty! Make sure you have a towel and of course WATER!

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

20 Miles in Sunny St. George

Hey guys!

I hope your week is flying by as fast as mine is!

This whole school thing is going great and I am having fun playing with my little guy one on one while the twins are gone.

P.S.. It is SO weird to just have ONE kid..

This last weekend I headed to St. George with 4 of my friends for a little R,R&R. (Run, Rest, Relax)

We headed out of town late Friday night. Luckily, I was able to fall asleep about half way there. I really don’t know how.. Does car sleep even count?

We arrived at the house we were staying at around 12:30 AM. My friend Lindsey and I set out all of our gear, nutrition, and our alarm clocks for 4:15 AM. Yea.. epic amount of sleep I know!

I actually couldn’t fall asleep for awhile.. my mind wouldn’t turn off and I just tossed and turned. But when the alarm went off I only pushed snooze once.. Ha!

We got dressed and I ate some bread with almond butter and honey and we headed to meet a group of girls.

Our plan was to run 18 miles of the St. George Marathon course. We met with the other girls and one guy. I didn’t know anyone really, it was lindseys friend and her friends. The cool thing about runners is you just kind of click instantly. We all had a great ride up the course dropping water/gatorade every 3-5 miles. Everyone was planning doing different distances and starting at different points.

Linds and I got dropped off on the veyo hill. We got our music ready, I ate a honey stinger and then we both decided we needed to go to the bathroom and their was a gas station down the road so we ran to the gas station which was .67 from where we were dropped off. So we had a new starting point… The bottom of the veyo hill! Which is the steepest section of the course. I completley underestimated that hill!

The course isn’t as downhill as I thought. There are more gradual climbs than I expected there to be. You have veyo than it flattened out a bit and then climbed a little more before a good downhill around 15-17

 

but than you climb again for about a mile and then we ran into town and to the finish. We actually missed the turn to the finish and went an extra block ending with 20.2 miles for the day.

I felt great at the end! We finished strong and I have a little more confidence come race day.

 

My goal for the marathon is 3:45. Here is hopin..

The rest of the weekend was filled with food, time at the pool and more food!

We went straight to breakfast at tiffanys for breakfast

 

and right to the pool.

I had a great time with these girls and can’t wait to go back and RACE!