Sometimes life gives us strong currents and rough waters. Forward motion isn’t always easy. At times, we feel like we’re swimming and swimming and gasping for breath (have I mentioned swimming is my weakest sport?). Lately, I’ve been treading water as I try to keep myself above the surface so I don’t drown. With every tidal wave eventually comes calm waters. Ebb, flow. Ebb, flow. Unfortunately for me right now, the waves are crashing and I’m trying to get back into the life boat. But, like our friend Dory from “Finding Nemo” so eloquently reminds me, I must “just keep swimming.”

To keep you up to speed as I try to swim to shore, here are the eight things you need to know about my corner of the world this week:

1. My house is almost done! If you’ve been reading runladylike.com for a while, you know that my husband (Mr. rUnladylike) and I relocated to Tampa last May after living in Atlanta for many years. Following an extensive house search, we decided to build a home in an amazing neighborhood, including demolishing the house on the lot and starting from scratch. We broke ground in August 2015, and I’m happy to report that our house is scheduled to be done on February 29. “Woo hoo” is an understatement. If I never have to select another tile, floor color, paint scheme, light fixture, slab of marble or mirror again, it will be too soon. We have been spending the small amount of free time we have going to home stores, scouring Pinterest and designing rooms. I’m spent.

And did I mention we’ve been living at my parents’ house for the past six months? Everyone gasps in horror when I tell them that, but I am lucky enough to have the most incredible mom and dad on the planet, so it has actually be a lot of fun. I can’t begin to describe how grateful we are for how amazing they are. Everything I know about unconditional love, support and confidence is embodied in them. All that being said, we’re excited to have our own space again. I’m also excited to get all of my worldly possessions out of storage, including every shred of winter clothing I own. Oh, how I love going out and buying things I already own but are locked away in a pod somewhere. #sarcasm

2. I finished my first 21 days of the 21 Day Fix and Hammer and Chisel. I really love the program and would recommend it to anyone looking to eat cleaner and incorporate more strength training into their exercise. I will share a more in-depth post about this soon, but here are a few initial thoughts on the first three weeks:

• The meal plan is healthy, balanced and is easy to follow. I just love having guidelines and some structure to follow. That is something that always works really well for me. Runners and active athletes will need to bump up the calories and servings to accommodate the extra activity and ensure you are eating enough, especially if you are not trying to lose a lot of weight.
• I did great for 18 out of the 21 days. At the very end, I fell off the wagon a bit and caved into some cravings. The last weekend of the fix, I had three parties in two days and it just became too much. I had also run 12 miles the morning of one of the parties, so I was so hungry and gave into some of the temptations. Of course, I kind of hated myself for a little bit afterward, but this is real life and we have to live it. I am pretty pleased with 18 out of 21 days.
• Hammer and Chisel is an awesome strength training program. I would highly recommend it to any runner. I don’t think doing the DVDs alone is enough exercise for intermediate athletes and would recommend adding running or cardio of your choice three to four times per week depending on your activity and ability level. I do think the workouts are excellent complements to runners, especially with all the glute work. I have to admit, the past two weeks I haven’t been doing all the workouts on the strength side. The first two weeks I did 5 out of 6 of them plus running. The past two weeks I’ve run more and done only 2-3 of the workouts per week. I’d like to get back to balancing the majority of the DVDs with my other cardio. I felt really good when I was doing that.
• I’m going to continue buying and drinking Shakeology. I really like it and enjoy drinking a protein shake right after my workouts.
• In terms of results, I do feel like my arms look a little more defined and are a little stronger. I was down a little on the scale the first two weeks but haven’t checked again since. Change doesn’t happen overnight, so I don’t like to dwell on that too much. I also don’t think weight alone is a solid indicator of body composition changes, so I take that with a grain of salt.
• Overall, I feel better when I am following this plan. Two thumbs up.

3. I’ve felt great running this month. Have I mentioned how much I adore cold weather? Well, fall and winter finally came to Florida at the same time and I am in Heaven. During the past week, I’ve enjoyed a few runs between 39 to 45 degrees and I could not be happier. And yes, I still wear a tank top and shorts. It is glorious!

Here are what my past two weeks of workouts have looked like:

•  Mon., 1/11: AM: Chisel Cardio DVD; PM: 3-mile walk with my mom
• Tues., 1/12: AM: Ran 5.1 easy miles; PM: 60 minutes of accupuncture
• Wed., 1/13: Chisel Balance DVD
• Thurs., 1/14: Ran 8.6 miles, including 2 x 15 minutes at or close to marathon pace (faster miles were 8:13, 8:03 and 7:51)
• Fri., 1/15: REST
• Sat., 1/16: Ran 12 miles with new friends in Tampa; the picture of the tree in the sunrise above was taken at mile 9 of this run. I had a nice fast finish with my last mile at 7:55.
• Sun., 1/17: Total Body Hammer DVD + 10-minute ab DVD

• Mon., 1/18: Ran 4 easy miles
• Tues., 1/19: Ran 6.3 easy miles
• Wed., 1/20: AM: Did 5.12 on the elliptical machine; PM: Walked 2 miles with my mom
• Thurs., 1/21: AM: 3-mile recovery run + Upper Body Fix DVD; PM: 90-minute sports massage
• Friday., 1/22: REST
• Sat., 1/23: Ran 1.3-mile warm-up with Mr. rUnladylike around an 8:15 pace followed by 30 minutes of strength training via Lower Body Fix DVD
• Sun., 1/24: Ran 8.6 solo miles in 39 degrees!

4. I’ve discovered two new food loves.

The first is JIF peanut powder. The only ingredients are roasted peanuts. It is fantastic for putting in protein smoothies or mixing into Greek yogurt. Here are my two favorite combinations:

• Peanut butter banana smoothie: 1 scoop vanilla Shakeology (or vanilla protein powder of your choice), half of a banana, two tablespoons of JIF peanut powder, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 cup of ice … blend until smooth.
• Greek yogurt “dessert”: I eat this almost every night after dinner: 1 red container (or about a half of a cup or so) of plain Fage Greek yogurt, one tablespoon of JIF peanut powder, half of a very ripe banana mashed, dash of cinnamon to taste … stir all of this together until smooth and combined.

My second favorite are these Crispy Crunchy Broccoli Florets from Trader Joes. They are such a great treat and only contain broccoli, rice bran oil and sea salt. They are a good way to get some extra veggies and satisfy a salty/crunchy snack craving.

5. I’ve been too cool for school in my new Brooks Running get-up. Since I work from home, I literally live in active wear. The thought of putting on pants with a zipper and any shoe other than a running shoe or my beloved Kenkohs makes me want to have a panic attack. This month, my friends at Brooks sent me the new Run Thru Jacket and Pants to try, and it’s currently my favorite outfit to wear around the house, run errands in or put on after a run to go to brunch with friends. It kind of reminds me of an updated take on a 1980s sweatsuit. This is so comfy, but I wouldn’t wear it to run in. It comes in teal, navy and pink and has a waterproof pocket in the pants for a phone. The suit is pricey at $98 for the jacket and $95 for the pants. The one change I would make is to the jacket. I wish it was the same thickness as the pants to keep you warmer (the jacket is only the mesh outer layer without the extra lining the pants have). While I love having this and wearing it, I wouldn’t purchase it for myself, but it would be great to receive as a gift. And it just looks cool (and funny) to take pictures in.

6. I’m reading two good books. You know, in all my spare time (#sarcasm #again). I actually love working out on the elliptical machine because I can get in a solid hour of reading on my Kindle. Right now I’m reading Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica. (I recently read her book The Good Girl and LOVED it.) This one is creepy so far in a good way.

On the running front, I’m nearly finished with The Runner’s Brain by Jeff Brown and Liz Neporent. I’ll share a full review on this as soon as I’ve completed it.

7. I’ve got a few songs on my running playlist on repeat. I rarely run without music. It keeps me motivated and positive. Here are the songs that I am loving right now:

• Stitches by Shawn Mendes
• Right above It by Lil Wayne (This is the theme song for HBO’s Ballers.)
• Sugar by Maroon 5
• I Will Survive by Cake

8. I’m about to go on a major travel bender. Today I’m on my way to New York City for work until Friday. I am launching a new brand for my company and it will be one of the most important weeks of my career … hence the reason why I have been treading so much water. My husband and mother-in-law will be there too, so I’m excited to go to dinner and a show before I get swallowed away by work for the rest of the time. I’m also over the moon about running in Central Park … I’ve got my Stabilicers ready!

Next week, I head to Arizona for six days to run the Sedona Half Marathon with my best running pal Elizabeth and will then head on to Tucson for a few days for work. Shortly after that, I go to Sea Island for a wedding. It’s going to be a whirlwind, but I can’t wait to be in a few of my favorite places during the next three weeks.

Please note: There are Amazon and Brooks Running affiliate links contained within this post. I am also a Brooks Running Run Happy Ambassador and receive free products each month to test.

What have you been up to the past few weeks? How is your 2016 going so far?