I was recently talking to one of the women I’m coaching who is just getting back into running after a little time off. She was remarking about how hard some of her easy runs have felt, but that it isn’t really a physical challenge, but a mental one. Finding our reason to keep putting on our shoes and getting out the door is personal. All our reasons are different. But with every new day of a mission accomplished, we are making progress. YOU are making progress! Every step, every inch, every mile is something to celebrate.

Every week, I share a week-in-review link-up. You can see my weekly training and how I’m taking action against my 2015 goals. I also share the one thing I’m most proud of from the week and the one pitfall that has challenged me the most. Then, I invite you to do the same. There is a place at the bottom of this post for you to share a link to your weekly recap for others to come and cheer you on or offer you support. If you don’t have a Web site, simply share about your week in the comments section.

Here’s what last week looked like:

Getting Sweaty and Stronger

My fitness goals for 2015 are to stay in half marathon shape year-round (20-30 miles of running per week and long runs of 8-11 miles) and get stronger (2-3 strength training and cross training workouts each week).

• Monday: Ran 3.6 easy miles with one of my coaching clients
• Tuesday: AM: 30-minutes of Jillian Michaels strength training; PM: Ran 4 hilly miles with Mr. rUnladylike at 7:51 average pace (8:00, 7:46, 7:58, 7:44)

• Wednesday: AM: 1 hour of Core Fusion Sport at Exhale (This is an amazing strength training class that also gets your heart rate going.); PM: 75 minutes of restorative yoga by candlelight at Fit: To Be

• Thursday: 45 minutes at Torq Cycle (17.96 miles and good enough for first female in the class)
• Friday: 1 hour of restorative yoga at Exhale
• Saturday: 10 easy recovery miles with friends at 9:12 pace

• Sunday: REST

All of the classes I’ve been taking have been through ClassPass, a monthly fitness membership that allows you to take unlimited fitness classes at numerous studios in your city. ClassPass is currently in 20 cities. You can skip the waiting list by using this link. I’ll be sharing a full review on ClassPass later this week. Hint: I LOVE it!

Eating Clean

I continue to use MyFitnessPal every day to track my food and exercise intake with my mom. I’m also going 27 days strong with no bread or added sugar and love the feeling of control that brings. Here are a few recipes I made this past week that were winners:

• Turkey Zucchini Pizza Lasagna: I made this easy-to-assemble casserole from Food Faith Fitness and it was a hit! Rather than slicing and baking the zucchini, I used my Vegetti to turn 3 zucchinis into a heap of zoodles. I put them in a colander with salt for 5 minutes to release the water. Then, I followed the directions for everything else. The “lasagna” makes 8 servings, and each serving is 275 calories, 8.5 grams of fat, 17.4 grams of carbs, 6 grams of sugar and 32 grams of protein. I calculate the nutrition information using MyFitnessPal. A few things to note: Be sure to find pizza sauce that has no added sugar or strange ingredients or preservatives. Also, it can be really hard to find turkey pepperoni without nitrates/nitrates. You will likely have to go to Whole Foods for both of those items if you want to make sure the ingredients are real and high quality.

• Strawberry lime cucumber mint water: I pretended that it was summer this week by whipping up a batch of this infused water from Back to Her Roots. It was delicious and a satisfying beverage to sip on at my desk during the day.

• Caramel Coconut Energy Bites: I am someone who really needs something sweet after dinner. But what’s a girl to do when she’s not eating sugar? How about make a quick batch of these tasty treats from my friend Healthy Strides. These are absolutely amazing. Kim says they taste like Girl Scout Samoa cookies and they absolutely do. I used 10 ounces of dates, a tablespoon of raw almond butter, Jay Robb Chocolate Protein Powder and organic unsweetened coconut. Pulse it all in the food processor for a minute, roll into balls, chill in the fridge for a few minutes and WAALAA: Perfection! These would also be great flattened into the shape of a cookie instead of a ball so you feel like you’re eating cookies. Using the same ingredients as me, the recipe will yield 11 balls at 107 calories each.

What I’m Most Proud of

Can I have more than one thing I’m proud of this week? Well, I’m sharing more than one thing anyway.

1. I’m proud that I have been making time for restorative yoga. It’s easy to feel like these classes aren’t “workouts,” but they are important for overall health and wellbeing. I went twice last week and I am certain that all of the deep stretching and holding challenging poses for several minutes at a time is helping me prevent injury. I’ve had no IT band pain in the past 2 weeks since being more diligent with these classes. Additionally, meditating and just doing nothing but being inside my head can be really challenging for me. These classes have focused me to try to calm my mind and just be.

2. I’m proud of signing up for some races so that I’m no longer a raceless runner! I signed up for 2 races this week! You can read more and find out which ones they are here.

3. I’m really proud that I have been getting a group of women together to run every weekend. We all know a lot of runners and running clubs, so I’ve been organizing everyone on Saturdays at different locations to not only run together, but to have breakfast after and celebrate our amazing friendships and community.

Where I Struggled

Two words: dried fruit. I simply ate too much of it last week. Since I can’t have any sweets or bread, I sometimes use unsweetened dried fruit to cure my cravings. I overdosed. This week, I am only having raisins in my oatmeal and didn’t buy anything else.

Thought for the Week Ahead

“Sometimes you have to push yourself, and it can be uncomfortable. You will want to quit. But if you can find your edge and embrace the discomfort even for a little bit, you’ll find a new level of fitness, skill and knowledge. And there’s no better feeling than growth.

–         Roisin McGettigan-Dumas

I want to hear from you! How was your week last week? How was your training? What healthy recipes or snacks did you enjoy? What are you most proud of? Where were you most challenged? Share your comments and/or link up to your weekly recap post below.